1907] Joinings. — Behavior of the Starfish. 177 



It is evident that the difficult point in this formulation comes 

 in the second paragraph ahove. Why should the stimulus, local- 

 ized in a certain way, cause not merely different reactions in 

 different parts (which is not in itself remarkable), but precisely 

 those different reactions which will work harmoniously together 

 to accomplish the result of righting the starfish ? 



Two Possible A)iswers. — To this two answers are possible. 

 ( 1 ) The first is that which follows from Driesch 's formulation ; 

 the harmonious, purposive action is due to the Entelechy. (2) 

 The only other answer that can be given is that the precise way 

 each part shall act under the influence of the stimulus must be 

 determined by the past history of that part ; by the stimuli that 

 have acted upon it, by the reactions which it has given, by the 

 results which these reactions have produced-" (as well as by the 

 present relations of this part to other parts, and by the imme- 

 diate effects of its present action). In other words, this complex 

 harmonious working of the parts together is only intelligible on 

 the view that there is a history behind it; that it is a result of 

 development. We can not look upon it as a final thing ("etwas 

 Letztes, Naturgegebenes " ) , because there is a history behind it, 

 and we know as solidly as we know anything in physiology that 

 the history of an organism does modify it and its actions — in ways 

 not yet thoroughly understood, doubtless, yet none the less real. 

 The starfish that we have before us has an actual history of untold 

 ages, in which it has existed as germ plasm or otherwise, and there 

 can be no greater mistake in physiology than to leave this out of 

 account. The modifications induced in organisms by their expe- 

 riences, either while existing as germ plasms or as individuals, are 

 as clearly a part of physiology as is the study of digestion, and 

 their existence is not less doubtful. 



Development of the Unity of Action. — Have we any evidence 

 that the harmonious working together of the different parts 

 under the action of the righting impulse is the result of a devel- 

 opment? Clearly, we have; our experiments on habit formation 

 show that individual experience plays a marked part in the re- 

 action. We see that when an animal having a set impulse is 



""All these factors have been demonstrated to so modify organs or 

 organisms as to change their behavior in definite ways. 



