THE PROBLEM OF BODY AND MIND 243 



are haunted by the knowledge that particular defects in the 

 instrument are terribly perturbing to the player. 



(6) The experiences of mathematicians and other thinkers 

 at a high level lead us to attach considerable importance to 

 unconscious cerebration, to actual achievements on the part 

 of the personality when the partner whose task is with think- 

 ing appears to be in abeyance. 



(c) The characteristic feature of the animalistic theory is 

 the idea of interaction, and this raises several serious diffi- 

 culties. For how can the mind act on metabolism or metab- 

 olism on the mind ? How can there be interaction between 

 two disparate series? As Professor Stout (Manual of Psy- 

 chology, Chap. III.) puts it, " When we come to the direct 

 connection between a nervous process, and a correlated con- 

 scious process, we find a complete solution of continuity. 

 The two processes have no common factor. Their connection 

 lies entirely outside of our total knowledge of physical na- 

 ture on the one hand, and of conscious process on the other." 

 It has been answered that the force of this difficulty is in 

 the assumption that the two series are absolutely disparate, 

 an assumption which the undeniable correspondence between 

 the two series disproves. To positive vitalists there is no 

 particular difficulty, for the non-material psychoid or entele- 

 chy which directs brain-processes will be readily susceptible 

 to the influence of the mind; but this is a purely verbal 

 relief, since it leaves us in face of the difficulty of the psy- 

 choid's or entelechy's capacity of acting on metabolism. We 

 have admitted the difficulty of explaining what is meant by 

 the " two-aspect theory " or " the double-faced unity ", but 

 we are not sure that the idea of interaction is any more 

 intelligible. We suggest, however, to those who uphold the 

 idea, that the difficulty will appear less if it be recognised 



