170 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



the highest skills to substitute, instantaneously if necessary, one type of 

 integrated response for another. 



In man, this integration of well-adjusted performances is acquired and 

 fused with natural aptitude, the nature of which will be discussed in a 

 moment. 



Skill and Reflex Action. 



Those reflex mechanisms which contribute to balance, to the main- 

 tenance of posture, and to the efficient co-ordination of action are an 

 important basis of skill. In this sphere we honour the famous con- 

 tributions of Sherrington, Head, Magnus, and Pavlov, to whose great 

 work. Conditioned Reflexes,- we stand too near to see it in perspective. 



Can the physiologist regard skill as entirely an integration of 

 conditioned reflexes ? Eventually, perhaps. More than that we cannot 

 say. We are warned not to exaggerate their interpretation. 



An impressive fact is that to ensure the certain conditioning of a 

 reflex the control of external surroundings must be complete. The 

 necessity, for example, of a sound-proof laboratory, of the absence of the 

 experimenter, to say nothing of spectators, emphasises the specificity 

 both of situation and response. Skill, on the other hand, typically shows 

 itself in the rapid adjustment to a changing environment and to unforeseen 

 conditions. 



It seems premature to speculate whether the ' conditioned response ' 

 formula, valuable as it is, will prove adequate to explain skill as well as 

 habit. Yet — to pass from conditioned to unconditioned or ' racial ' reflexes 

 — there seems to be no doubt that neuro-rauscular patterns controlling them 

 can be inherited. But here the relation of inherited to acquired ability 

 is complex and subtle. Such a fundamental activity as walking is affected 

 by race, education, dress, profession and transient fashion. Even if we 

 confine our consideration to a dominantly reflex event such as the 

 assumption and maintenance of posture, it is clear that in ourselves the 

 matter may be partly controlled by consciousness. By taking thought 

 we can improve balance, assume different types of balance, even plan 

 balances in advance. 



Skill and Instinct. 



Comparison of human and animal behaviour has always offered great 

 attractions — and risks — to members of the British Association. Yet I 

 believe that the present comparison is not difficult. While many animals 

 inherit high-grade skills, man does not. Birds inherit skill in nest-building, 

 the kingfisher making one type, the swallow another, and moreover, 

 selecting different materials. 



At birth, man is spectacularly unskilled. The skills which he sub- 

 sequently acquires are almost entirely determined by his social and 

 material environment. But he compensates for his start from scratch 

 by the number and complexity of the skills which he soon acquires. And 

 of these, language, whose raw material is speech-habits, is an amazing 

 example. 



» Oxford, 1927, 



