EVOLUTION OF MIND

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 46, 23 August 1927, Page 14

EVOLUTION OF MIND

MAN AND THE ANIMALS

THE GIFT OF LANGUAGE

There was a large attendance on Saturday evening at the Red Cross Hall, Dixon street, when Professor- T. A. Hunter continued his series of lectures on "The New Psyohology" for the W.KA., and dealt with "The Evolution of Mind." The first problem to be considered, said the lecturer, was "what is mind?" The main characteristics, no doubt appearing in varying degree, were seeming spontaneity of movement, persistence o£ movement in (.-hanging circumstances (walkiug), variation of the details of movement though the general plan remains the same (means and, end), and a' tendency tv persist till satisfaction was attained and an improvement effected in reaction with repetition. Many fundamental points with regard to this subject were still unsettled, but fortunately it was possible to throw a great deal of light on the development of the mind witnout waiting for these problems to be solved. To understand our own minds we must realise something of what has been involved in their making, and tlie first, point to make clear was the importance of the time element. We get no re;' 1 understanding when we referred to millions of years, or even hundreds of thousands of years. Oiir bodies were a synthesis and development of many more primitive types of reaction found lower in the animal scale. Animals that were below the level where a nervous system appeared displayed what are. called troplsms. These were immediate reactions to a situation—positive or negative movements of the organism towards or away lrom the source of stimulation. Two very ditterent types of .explanation of these had been given: (a) That the animal is merely a machine (Loeb), (b) that the 1 action are purposive '(Jennings). Whatever theory was.adopted it seemed clear: (1) that the reactions Were narrowly lim- - I™'» their types and modes of reaction; j (2) that the kind of action and its degree : were 1 not independent of the condition of the organism. Jennings says: "So far as objective evidence goes, there is no differonce of kind, but a-complete continuity between the behaviour of lower and hi"l ler organisms." As we came up the s°cale tlus_ became more and more obvious. The professor here showed a number of lantern slides to illustrate tropic action. Tropic actions were he said, to bo found in the cells of the higher organisms—as, for instance, in the white corpuscles of the blood —and played a part in the finding of food jind mating of many species of the animal kingdom. With. tlie appearance of a nervous system came developed apparatus for receiving different kinds of stimuli—sensory receptors for different methods of reacting—effectors motor, and for adjusting as correlating adjusters. Well-known examples of reflex action were found in the iris of the eye and the patella or kneecap. Reflex acts tended to be organised m, systems which could be stimulated in the appropriate situations, and the l-ecactiou might bo very complex and capable of much modiScation. These might be called the instincts. THE DIVERSITY OF CLASSIFICATION. In the psychological literature of the day, said Professor Hunter, was. great diversity in th S classification and treatment of the instinctive tendencies and a good deal ot this difference- of opinion could be traced to the fact that each investigator based his classification on the position at different in the evolution of the organism. This point was illustrated by reference to the views of such well-1 known authorities as Lloyd Morgan/ lansley, and M'Dougall. At a certain btage in-; the development of mind two very difterenfc possibilities arose: (1) Along the line of more specialised instinctive tendencies. "One of these lines"-, says MDoiigall, "was the greater special-' isation and differentiation of the instancts, tlio innate mental distinctions, the racial mental structure which express themselves in instinctive behaviour" In- the mam the evolution of the instincts follow-■' ed this line. If we took the insects that show this most clearly—the social insects such as bees and. ants—the. meaning was clear in the different instinctive reactions tor the various types, as the queen, drones and workers; but the fact was also manifest in such creatures as the solitary wasp or the Yucca moth of Bergson's theory. Ao doubt thure was here some capacity to adapt to change in circumstances, but the capacity was limited. "These organjsms have specialised along the instinctive me, says Bergson. (2) On another line, However there had been developing the power of adaptation of the instinctive reactions to meet the varying circumstances in the life of the animal. This was what was meant by intelligence. It implied (1) diftercntiation of the sensory inlets- h) ..greater increased power of association and connection between sensory experience and reaction; (3) greater power to modify the objective conditions- through the eflorts of the. animal; (4) greater power of co-operation between msmbers . of the species. ■ . . ' • "

For instance, the' development of the parental instinct in birds and mammals meant profound changes in the conditions of their .lives and the reactions on themselves. The individuals were prompted to teed , shelter, and protect the young, with atrtne elaborate actions that these functions involved. With the development of the gregarious instinct came co-operation suggestion, sympathy, imitation, and all ot these qualities were found in some measure in the higher animals. There conld be little doubt that in the case of the higher apes ■ their development had been strongly conditioned by the hand-like paws that enabled them to catch hold of and manipulate objects. A number of illustrations were here given to show the experimental work which Kohler has doiie with the apes, and the vise of tools in the hands of primitive man.

MAN v. THE ANIMAL. ■ "It Las been through the development of language," said Professor" Hunter, that man has been enabled to advance so much beyond the apes. Beginning as | mere expressions of emotions or imitations o£ sounds in Nature, niuri has developed a syste'nv-of signs that has freed Ins ideas from connection with, the concrete, has enabled him to co-operate much more effectively, and has stimulated his curiosity. Thus knowledge, insight, and skill has replaced brute force and allowed man to subdue the earth. But it is perhaps its, aid in developing the social heritage that is most important. Few can realise how much we are dependent on the results of the past handed down to this generation by the spoken and written records; by tradition, and by the works of man's hands ami-brain." Graham Wallas said: "If the earth weva struck by one of Mr. Wells's comets, aud if, in consequence, every human being now alive were to lose all the knowledge- aud habits which ho had acquired from preceding generations, nine-tenths of the inhabitants of London or New York would be dead in a month, and 99 per cent, of the remaining tenth would be dead in six months." Further, in the absence of the parental instinct the human young could not survive, «nd without the long period of immaturity it could not develop the knowledge and habits on which its possibilities of a higher life depends." No matter what field was investigated we iind essentially the same line of advance. Think of religion, morality, architecture, science, sympathy and benevolence,- literature and art. What marvellous*.things man has done, and they are all reflected in his personality. But in this process very often he has, in his ignorance or cupidity, repressed forces of his nature instead of organising them in the service of the good, the beautiful, and the true. Hence, ranch of what is called to-day, psycho-pathology. Evolution is not only something that has happened—it is happening, and man by understanding can hasten its development. That is the task of the twentieth century."

A spirited discussion followed..the lecture. On. 3rd September Professor Hunter will speak on "Psychology and Education." There will be no lecture next Saturday.