REASON 



approached them. Science is the diagnosis of 

 essential as opposed to accidental properties. 

 But science has come very slowly into the reason- 

 ing processes of mankind. 



Reason differs radically from directive instinct 

 in that it is helpless without experience and 

 memory, and may be misled by them. The 

 action of directive instinct may be compared to a 

 machine that is devised to execute a particular 

 movement upon the playing of a particular chord 

 of music. Reason resolves the chord into its 

 component notes, which, by inferences from ex- 

 perience and memory, are brought into connec- 

 tion with opinion or behaviour. The experience 

 may be direct, or indirect that is to say, may 

 have been derived from the sensory impression 

 of an object or from information acquired from 

 others by means of gestures or words. A new-born 

 baby is helpless, since it lacks all but the very 

 rudiments of directive instinct and also lacks 

 experience and memory. 



Reason is popularly supposed to be man's 

 prerogative, and even evolutionist speculation 

 is sometimes coloured by the assumption that 

 this capacity is a development peculiar to human- 

 ity. But if the doctrine of evolution is reliable 

 the germs of reason must be inherent in all crea- 

 tures, and an unprejudiced survey of the be- 

 haviour of the lower animals will find no lack of 

 evidence of some capacity for reasoning. Insects 

 which will pursue the routine of nest-making 

 and egg-laying in complete disregard of accidents 

 that render their labour useless and absurd, will 

 use careful discrimination in the preliminary tasks 

 of choosing a site for the nest and in selecting its 

 materials, showing a judgment that seems to 

 indicate that they can compare the merits of 

 different sites and substances, and can draw 



