第 21 节
作者:
暖暖 更新:2021-02-24 22:59 字数:9321
e;and this is Intelligence。 〃The basis of instinct is heredity and we can impute an action to pure instinct only if it is hereditary。 The other class of actions are those devised by the individual animal for himself on the basis of his own experience and these are called generally intelligent。 Of intelligence operating within the sphere of instinct there is ample evidence。 There are modifications of instinctive action directly traceable to experience which cannot be explained by the interaction of purely hereditary tendencies and there are cases in which the whole structure of the instinct is profoundly modified by the experience of the individual。〃 Hobhouse; whom I quote; goes on to give many examples of instinctive action modified by experience and intelligence in the insect and lower animal world。 What I wish especially to point out is that man has many instinctive bases for conduct; but instincts as such are not often seen in pure form in man。 They are constantly modified by other instincts and through them runs the influence of intelligence。 The function of intelligence is to control instincts; to choose ways and means for the fulfillment of instincts that are blocked; etc。 Moreover; the effects of teachings; ethics; social organization and tradition; operating through the social instincts; are to repress; inhibit and whip into conformity every mode of instinctive conduct。 The main instincts are those relating to nutrition and reproduction; the care of the young; to averting danger or destroying it; to play and organized activity; to acquiring; perhaps to teaching and learning and to the social relations generally。 But manners creep in to regulate our methods of eating and the things we shall eat; and we may not eat at all unless we agree to get the things to eat a certain way。 We may not cohabit except under tremendous restriction; and marriage with its aims and purposes is sexual in origin but modified largely and almost beyond recognition by social consideration; taste; esthetic matters; taboos and economic conditions。 We may not treat our enemy as instinct bids us do;for only in war may one kill and here one kills without any personal purpose or anger; almost without instinct。 We may be compelled through social exigencies to treat our enemy politely; eat with him; sleep with him and help him out of difficulties and thus completely thwart one instinctive set of reactions。 Play becomes regulated by rules and customs; becomes motivated by the desire for superiority; or the desire for gain; and may even leave the physical field entirely and become purely mental。 And so on。 It does no special practical good to discuss instincts as if they operated in man as such。 They become purposes。 Therefore we shall defer the consideration of instincts and purposes in detail until later chapters of this book。 Since instincts are too rigid to meet the needs of the social and traditional life of man; they become intellectualized and socialized into purposes and ambitions; sometimes almost beyond recognition。 Nevertheless; the driving force of instinct is behind every purpose; every ambition; even though the individual himself has not the slightest idea of the force that is at work。 This does not mean that instinct acts as a sort of cellar… plotter; roving around in a subconsciousness; or at least no such semi…diabolical personality need be postulated; any more than it need be postulated for the automatic mechanism that regulates heartbeat or digestion。 The organic tensions and depressions that constitute instinct are not conscious or subconscious; they affect our conscious personalities so that we desire something; we fit that desire in with the rest of our desires; we seek the means of gratifying that desire first in accordance with means that Nature has given us and second in accordance with social teaching and our intelligence。 If the desire brings us sharply in contact with obstacles imposed either by circumstances or more precious desire; we inhibit that desire;and thus the instinct。 Because organic tensions and depressions are periodic and are dependent upon the activities of glands and tissues not within our control; the desires may never be completely squelched and may arise as often as some outer stimulus brings them into activity; to plague and disorder the life of the conscious personality。 3。 With this preliminary consideration of instinct; we pass on to certain of the phases of intelligence。 How to define intelligence is a difficulty best met by ignoring definition。 But this much is true: that the prime function of intelligence is to store up the past and present experiences so that they can be used in the future; and that it adds to the rigid mechanism of instinct a plastic force which by inhibiting and exciting activity according to need steers the organism through intricate channels。 Instinct; guided by a plan; conveniently called Nature's plan; is not itself a planner。 The discharge of one mechanism discharges another and so on through a series until an end is reached;an end apparently not foreseen by the organism but acting for the good of the race to which the organism belongs。 Intelligence; often enough not conscious of the plans of Nature;'1' indeed; decidedly ignorant of these plans; works for some good established by itself out of stimuli set up by the instincts。 It plans; looks backward and forward; reaches the height of reflecting on itself; gets to recognize the existence of instinct and sets itself the task of controlling instinct。 Often enough it fails; instinct breaks through; takes possession of the means of achievement; accomplishes its purposebut the failure of intelligence to control and the misguided control it attempts and assumes are merely part of the general imperfections of the organism。 A perfect intelligence would be clearly able to understand its instincts; to give each of them satisfaction by a perfect compromise; would pick the methods for accomplishment without error; and storing up the past experiences without loss; would meet the future according to a plan。
'1' We are at this stage in a very dark place in human thought。 We say that instincts seek the good of the race; or have some racial purpose; as the sexual instinct has procreation as its end。 But the lover wooing his sweetheart has no procreation plan in his mind; he is urged on by a desire to win this particular girl; a desire which is in part sexual; in part admiration of her beauty; grace; and charm; again it is the pride of possession and achievement; and further is the result of the social and romantic ideals taught in books; theaters; etc。 He may not have the slightest desire for a child; as individual he plans one thing;but we who watch him see in his approach the racial urge for procreation and even disregard his purposes as unimportant。 Who and what is the Race; where does it reside; how can it have purposes? Call it Nature; and we are no better off。 We must fall back on an ancient personalization of forces; and our minds rest easier when we think of a Planner operating in all of us and perhaps smiling as He witnesses our strivings。
As we study the nervous systems of animals; we find that with the apparent growth of intelligence there is a development of that part of the brain called the cerebrum。 In so far as certain other parts of the brain are concernedmedulla; pons; mid…brain; basal ganglia cerebellumwe who are human are not essentially superior to the dog; the cow; the elephant or the monkey。 But when the neopallium; or the cerebrum; is considered; the enormous superiority of man (and the superiority of the higher over the lower animals) becomes striking。 Anatomically the cerebrum is a complex elaboration of cells and fibers that have these main purposes: First; to record in perfect and detailed fashion the EXPERIENCES of the organism; so that here are memory centers for visual and auditory experiences; for skin; joint and bone experiences of all kinds; speech memories; action memories; and undoubtedly for the recording in some way not understood of the pleasure…pain feelings。 Second; it has a hold; a grip on the motor mechanism of the body; on the muscles that produce action; so that the intelligence can nicely adapt movement to the circumstances; to purpose; and can inhibit the movements that arise reflexly。 Thus in certain diseases; where the part of the brain involved in movement is injured; voluntary movement disappears but reflex action is increased。 Third; the neopallium; or cerebrum; is characterized by what are known as association tracts; i。e。; connections of intricate kinds which link together areas of the brain having different functions and thus allow for combinations of activity of all kinds。 The brain thus acts to increase the memories of the past; and; as we all know; man is probably the only animal to whom the past is a controlling force; sometimes even an overpowering force。 It acts to control the conduct of the individual; to delay or to inhibit it; and it acts to increase in an astonishing manner the number of reactions possible。 One stimulus arousing cerebral excitement may set going mechanisms of the brain through associated tracts that will produce conduct of one kind or another for years to come。 We spoke