Page:Psychology and preaching.djvu/22

 4 PSYCHOLOGY AND PREACHING

impulse to such action.&quot; 1 This very carefully framed definition seems to include too much in the way of intel lectual process for instinctive action, pure and simple ; but doubtless describes quite accurately the operation as it actually takes place in the higher animals and in men, in whom it rarely or never occurs without involving intel lectual and emotional processes which are not strictly parts of it.

In brief, we may sum up by saying that an instinct is, structurally, a certain inherited, complex co-ordination of nerves; and, functionally, an inherited tendency to act in a certain way in the presence of certain stimuli. To what extent does it involve consciousness? That is difficult to say. But it seems to be well established that consciousness in any clear and definite sense of the term what is some times called &quot; correlated consciousness &quot; is connected only with the upper brain centres, the cerebral cortex; and in animals whose nervous systems have not developed these higher functions the instinctive adjustments are made with out consciousness. Consciousness is involved just so far as the cortex is developed and correlated with the lower instinctive centres. As James says, &quot; there is no fore-sight of the ends,&quot; and where there is no fore-sight of ends it is reasonable to suppose that there is just as little conscious realization of the meaning of the action for the organism i.e., there is little or no emotional interpretation of the action, although the physical aspects of emotional experience are present. Sensation must be very unclear and the feel ing-tones very slight, if present at all. Other things being equal, consciousness becomes more clear, luminous, intense as the scale of organic complexity is ascended ; and this is as true with respect to feeling on its conscious side as it is with respect to intelligence.

Instinct is sometimes called racial habit. This has the sound of a felicitous phrase, and seems to give an insight into its real nature ; but it also seems to imply the transmis-

1 &quot; Social Psychology,&quot; p. 29.

�� �