ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR 217 



tactics of Animate Nature to economise mental activity for 

 higher issues by a structural organisation or registration 

 (badly called mechanisation) of capacities for effective 

 agency. Thus instinctive capacity being a substitute for 

 instruction may make emancipated experiment practicable, 

 as birds well illustrate. 



12. Rational Conduct. 



In the case of man, and probably in his case only, there 

 is sometimes evidence of rational conduct as contrasted with 

 intelligent behaviour. We cannot describe such conduct with- 

 out using general terms; we know personally that, like 

 original thinking, it involves experimenting with abstract 

 ideas ; it implies conceptual as distinguished from perceptual 

 inference; it is controlled in reference to an ideal or pur- 

 pose. We wonder whether even at this level there may not 

 be a continuance of the organisation-process, for mathema- 

 ticians of distinction and other original thinkers assure us 

 of the reality of unconscious cerebration, and the absolute 

 trustworthiness of the immediate ethical judgment of fine 

 characters may be another illustration in a different field. 

 There is an assured immediacy of reaction in many cases 

 that makes the ordinary person marvel, and leaves the moral 

 genius free to tackle more difficult problems. 



13. General Impressions of Animal Behaviour. 



What we see is like a great staircase, exhibiting wonderful 

 perfection at different levels, such as those of tropisms, in- 

 stincts, and intelligence. We may distinguish a main line 

 of experimenting, ' trial and error ', and initiative from the 

 side lines in which organisation or automatisation of be- 

 haviour predominates over immediately controlled direction. 



