1896.] “A New Factor in Evolution.” 699 
that unorganized movement, or movement in the abstract, should do 
such an organized act as to select beneficial stimuli and avoid those 
which are detrimental? Especially how shall this be done 
after Mr. Baldwin has carefully laid it down than there can be 
no such thing as benefit or detriment in a mere muscular 
movement in and of itself?’ Of course Mr. Baldwin knows that 
various propositions have been suggested by different physi- 
ologists to explain why an undifferentiated creature like an 
amoeba, puts forth pseudopodia and makes definite prehensile 
movements in response to certain stimuli; and makes definite 
revulsions in response to others. But if so he is aware that all 
these propositions are based upon some purely physical relation- 
ship of the different stimuli to the protoplasmic substance, 
whereby some act in one way and others in a reverse manner. 
All such movements are definite and concrete and can be per- 
fectly understood. But how mere movement in the abstract should 
be able to select that sort of nutriment which is beneficial 
and to avoid those forces which are harmful is surely above 
human power to conceive—uniless, perhaps, Mr. Baldwin can 
explicitly describe to us how it is to be conceived. To assume 
outright that the movements resulting from pleasure would 
locomote intelligently toward proper nutriment, or do aught 
differently than the same movements caused in any other way, 
is simply to leap the whole problem by one absolutely un- 
bounded bald assumption. Than this it is more respectable to 
say that Ormozd takes the kitten by the neck and chucks it 
bodily to the saucer. 
But, perhaps, Mr. Baldwin merely means that the excess 
movement would work to continue the contact with the orig- 
inal stimulus already made. If so, then must we contend that 
absolute quiescence would most conduce to the preservation of 
a contact already made, and incoordinate*wiggling would be 
the thing in the world most likely to break the contact, and to 
drive the creature away from the beneficial stimulus. 
Mr. Baldwin’s assumption that excess movements, however 
caused, would be any more likely, in the abstract, to secure 
circular reactions among beneficial stimuli than among detri- 
2 Mental Development, p. 189. 
