1-07] Jennings. — Behavior of the Starfish. 175 



complex and manifold, it is nnanalyzable, final. It is to this 

 Enteleehy that the unified action in the interest of the organism 

 is due. 



A Physiological Formulation. — A second direction of inciuiry 

 leads to the formulation of the processes without leaving tlie 

 ground of the objective physiological factors which experimental 

 analysis shows to exist, attempting to see how these work together 

 to produce the observed result. An explanation along this line is 

 certain to be incomplete at the present time, or perhaps at any 

 given time, — yet it tends to become more and more complete and 

 satisfactory with the progress of investigation, and this is its great 

 advantage over such an account as that given by Driesch." Such 

 a formulation, making use of the pertinent experimentally deter- 

 mined facts, would take some such form as the following: 



The action of any part of the body is determined by the phys- 

 iological condition of that part at the time the action takes place. 

 The physiological condition of any part is shown by analysis of 

 the facts to be determined by (1) present external stimuli (in- 

 cluding under this all the relations of the body to external 

 things) ; (2) the present relations of the parts of the body to each 

 other (what might be called internal stimuli) ; (3) past stimuli, 

 external and internal; (4) past actions of the animal; (5) in- 

 ternal chemical changes in the course of metabolism.^* It is im- 

 portant, further, to recall the fact that the localization of stimuli, 

 past and present, is of the greatest importance in determining the 

 movements, — different parts moving differently according as 

 their relation to the region stimulated differs. 



Now, in the starfish the following are the facts : 



1. The inverted position, with ventral surface not in con- 

 tact, throws the entire body into a physiological state in which 

 the varied "feeling" movements of the rays and tube-feet occur. 

 The precise movements of each part and the variations in the dif- 

 ferent parts are determined by the present physiological con- 

 dition of each part, — this being largely the result of past move- 



^' It is difficult to see how the transferring of the difficulties to an 

 Enteleehy that is manifold, yet final, can appeal to anyone as helping us to 

 understand them. 



'* See the summary of the determinants of action in my Behavior of the 

 Lower Organisms, pp. 283-292. 



