THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SELF. 399 



In two others I have found this not to be the case. Auto, 

 matic writing is usually preceded by shooting pains along 

 the arm-nerves and irregular contractions of the arm- 

 muscles. I have found one medium's tongue and lips 

 apparently insensible to pin-pricks during her (speaking) 

 trance. 



If we speculate on the brain- condition during all these 

 different perversions of personalitj', we see that it must be 

 supposed capable of successively changing all its modes of 

 action, and abandoning the use for the time being of whole 

 sets of well-organized association-paths. In no other way 

 can we explain the loss of memory in passing from one 

 alternating condition to another. And not only this, but 

 we must admit that organized systems of patlis can be 

 thrown out of gear with others, so that the processes in one 

 system give rise to one consciousness, and those of another 

 system to another simultaneously existing consciousness. 

 Thus only can we understand the facts of automatic writing, 

 etc., whilst the patient is out of trance, and the false ana3S- 

 thesias and amnesias of the hysteric type. But just what 

 sort of dissociation the phrase * thrown out of gear ' may 

 stand for, we cannot even conjecture ; only I think we ought 

 not to talk of the doubling of the self as if it consisted in 

 the failure to combine on the part of certain systems of 

 ideas which usually do so. It is better to talk of objects 

 usuall}' combined, and which are now divided between the 

 two ' selves,' in the hysteric and automatic cases in ques- 

 tion. Each of the selves is due to a system of cerebral 

 paths acting by itself. If the brain acted normall}^, and 

 the dissociated systems came together again, we should get 

 a new affection of consciousness in the form of a third ' Self ' 

 different from the other two, but knowing their objects 

 together, as the result. — After all I have said in the last 

 chapter, this hardly needs further remark. 



Some peculiarities in the lower automatic performances 

 suggest that the systems throAvn out of gear with each other 

 are contained one in the right and the other in the left 

 hemisphere. The subjects, e.g., often write backwards, or 

 they transpose letters, or they write mirror-script. All these 



