32 LIFE: ITS ORIGIN AND NATURE 
Practically all the activities of the body are 
in this way regulated without our conscious in¬ 
tervention, and only conscious muscular activity 
calls for the exercise of directive thought. It 
i& a beautiful and complicated system which 
brings home to us the degree to which the 
human body has evolved and perfected itself 
(or has been perfected) through countless cen¬ 
turies of gradual progress. It would almost 
seem as though the object of life had been to 
perfect a physical vehicle to such a degree that 
it no longer interfered with the operations of 
thought and consciousness, which could thus be 
carried on, in their own sphere of activity, 
quite independently of the body, and without 
being hampered or interfered with by the latter. 
Whether or not this view of the case has any 
ultimate significance will, of course, depend 
upon our outlook upon life, i. e., whether we 
consider that it has a spiritual “meaning” or 
not. The facts, at all events, might easily be 
interpreted in this manner. 
HEREDITY 
One of cxxe most striking and characteristic 
manifestations of life is its power to reproduce 
itself, and to pass on to succeeding generations 
the bodily form and psychic peculiarities 
which that particular form of life possesses. 
This is known to us as Heredity. All life thus 
tends to reproduce itself, and, apart from slight 
variations, runs “true to type.” Because of 
heredity, the characteristics of any given animal 
(say) is maintained, and it resembles its par¬ 
ents. Half its life characteristics are inherited 
