1907] Jennings. — Behavior of the Starfish. 173 



of its length. Now, as the other two rays n and d swing the star- 

 fish over in the usual somersault this middle ray e straightens out 

 again, thus bringing the entire ray into the abnormal position 

 again, with its entire dorsal side down. The ray now begins to 

 turn again, beginning at the base instead of at the tip. Such 

 reversals, in the interest of the general result, of positions already 

 reached are very common in the righting reaction. 



Restatement of the Problem. — thus it is clear that the be- 

 havior under the righting impulse tends toward the accomplish- 

 ment of a general turning of the starfish as a whole, and that 

 given parts sacrifice their own more direct turning, or even re- 

 verse it, in the interest of the general result. The behavior shows 

 what can be hardly characterized otherwise as a general "plan," 

 each part doing what will assist (often very indirectly) to bring 

 about the result. Now, the essential question is: How is it de- 

 cided what role each part shall play, how decided that it shall 

 play the "right'' role for bringing about the result? The ques- 

 tion could be put in a popular form by using the subjective man- 

 ner of expression, and saying: "How does each part 'know' 

 which is the proper role for it to play?"^" Certainly the action 

 is like that of a higher animal when we judge that it "knows" 

 what it is trying to accomplish; "knows" the relation of means 

 to end, and acts accordingly. For characterizing the objective 

 phenomena is such behavior Driesch (1903) coined the expres- 

 sion, "objective knowing" ("Objektalwissen"). The nature of 

 the facts on which Driesch based this term is well illustrated in 

 the righting reaction of the starfish, whatever may be held as to 

 the value of the term or of the further conclusions drawn by 

 Driesch. 



Our objective analysis of the behavior has shown us (in 

 agreement with the contention of Driesch) that we can not assign 

 single specific external stimuli as the determining factors for each 

 separate movement. Yet in some way, of course, it is the relation 

 of the organism to the environment that has set in operation the 

 unified action, of which the separate movements are parts, and 



" The question is given its point by the fact that the role played by 

 each part is not stereotyped, but, speaking generally, any one of many 

 parts may play any one of many roles, — but always playing it in such co- 

 ordination with the rest as tends to bring about the result. 



