CHAPTER XV. 
INSTINCT AND REASON IN ANIMALS. 
WE have seen that animals have organs of sense, of per« 
ception, in many cases nearly as highly developed as in man, 
and that in the mammalia the eyes, ears, organs of smell 
and touch differ but slightly from those of our own species ; 
also that the brain and nervous system of the higher mam- 
mals closely approximate to those of man. We know that 
all animals are endowed with sufficient intelligence to meet 
the ordinary exigencies of life, and that some insects, birds, 
and mammals are able, on occasion, to meet extraordinary 
emergencies—in other words, to rise with the occasion. 
These occurrences indicate that what usually goes by the 
name of ‘‘instinct’’ is more or less pliable, unstable ; 
that animals are ina limited degree free agents, with powers 
of choice. Moreover, those naturalists who observe most 
closely and patiently the habits of animals do not hesitate 
to state their belief that animals, and some more than 
others, possess reasoning powers which differ in degree 
rather than in kind from the purely intellectual acts of 
man. 
As a matter of not infrequent observation, animals exer- 
cise the power of choice, they select this or that kind of 
food, prefer this or that kind of odor, and have their likes 
and dislikes to certain persons, and all this aside from mere 
physical stimulation of the senses. Moreover, animals are 
subject to the passions, they show anger, even when not 
hungry or under the domination of the reproductive in- 
stincts ; their sounds express dissatisfaction or contentment. 
Indeed, many facts could be stated showing that animals 
