Part 20 (2/2)
Whether they are performed with a conscious end in vieithout it, the fact re must lie back of the act to account for its perfor the last hour, each of us has performed many simple movereatly in character Of many holly unconscious Others were consciously perfor of effort on our part Still others were accole to decide which of two lines of action we should take Some of our acts were reflex, some were chiefly instinctive, and some were volitional
SIMPLE REFLEX ACTS--First, there are going on within every living organise part unconscious, which he does nothing to initiate, and which he is largely powerless to prevent Some of them are wholly, and others almost, out of the reach and power of his will Such are the moves in breathing, the lands in their process of secretion The entire organis no part of it is at rest
Movements of this type require no external stimulus and no direction, they are _reflex_; they take care of the as the body is in health, without let or hindrance, continuing whether we sleep or wake, even if we are in hypnotic or anaesthetic coma With movements of reflex type we shall have no ical, and coe of the consciousness
INSTINCTIVE ACTS--Next there are a large nu the eyes when they are threatened, starting back fro when angry These hly be classed as instinctive, and have already been discussed under that head They differ from the former class in that they require some stimulus to set the act off We are fully conscious of their perforh they are perfor the eyes serves an i back fro to do, but we do not stop to consider this before perfor the act
And so it is with a multitude of reflex and instinctive acts They are perfor an appropriate stianism calculated to act in a definite way in response to certain sti to come in between the stier of the ready-set nervous system, and the act follows at once
Acts of these reflex and instinctive types do not coe of volition, hence ill not consider the out of these reflex and instinctive acts is a broad field of action which uishi+ng feature of this type of action is that all such acts, though perforely without conscious purpose or intent, were at one time purposed acts, performed with effort; this is to say that they were volitional Such acts as writing, or fingering the keyboard of a piano, were once consciously purposed, volitional acts selected from many random or reflex movements
The effects of experience and habit are such, however, that soon the ht of the keyboard, is enough to set one scribbling or playing Stated differently, certain objects and situations coest certain characteristic acts or responses so strongly that the action follows immediately on the heels of the percept of the object, or the idea of the act James calls such action _ideo-motor_ Many illustrations of this type of acts will occur to each of us: A door starts to blow shut, and we spring up and avert the slaement comes to us, and we have started to our feet on the instant A dish of nuts stands before us, and we find ourselves nibbling without intending to do so
THE CYCLE FROM VOLITIONAL TO AUTOMATIC--It is of course evident that no such acts, though they were at one time in our experience volitional, now require effort or definite intention for their perfor this point may be stated as follows: _All volitional acts, when repeated, tend, through the effects of habit, to become automatic, and thus relieve the will fro the The mirror breaks up the automatic control previously developed, and requires one to start outSee text for directions]
To illustrate this law try the following experiure 19, ment two inches
Seat yourself at a table with the star before you, placing a mirror back of the star so that it can be seen in the mirror Have someone hold a screen a few inches above the table so as to hide the star from your direct view, but so that you can see it in the mirror Now reach your hand under the screen and trace with a pencil around the star fro your pencil off the paper until you get clear around Keep track of how long it takes to go around and also note the irregular wanderings of your pencil Try this experi the decrease in time and effort required, and the increase in efficiency as the movements tend to become automatic
VOLITIONAL ACTION--While it is obvious that the various types of action already described include a very large proportion of all our acts, yet they do not include all For there are some acts that are neither reflex nor instinctive nor automatic, but that have to be performed under the stress of compulsion and effort We constantly meet situations where the necessity for action or restraint runs counter to our inclinations We daily are confronted by the necessity ofdecisions in which the mind must be compelled by effort to take this direction or that direction Conflicting motives or tendencies create frequent necessity for coercion It is often necessary to drive our bark counter to the current of our desires or our habits, or to enter into conflict with a temptation
VOLITION ACTS IN THE MAKING OF DECISIONS--Everyone knows for himself the state of inward unrest which we call indecision A thought enters the mind which would of itself prompt an act; but before the act can occur, a contrary idea appears and the act is checked; another thought co the act, and is in turn counterbalanced by an opposing one The i ideas we call _ainst the proposed act While we are balancing the ainst each other, we are said to _deliberate_ This process of deliberation o on, if we continue to think about the matter at all, until one set of ideas has triumphed over the other and secured the attention When this has occurred, we have _decided_, and the deliberation is at an end We have exercised the highest function of the will and made a _choice_
So reached as soon as there is time to summon all the reasons on both sides of the question At other tio on at intervals for days or weeks, neither set of h to vanquish the other and dictate the decision When thea decision, because when one line of action is taken, the other cannot be, and we hesitate to lose either opportunity
A state of indecision is usually highly unpleasant, and no doubt more than one decision has been hastened in our lives siht be done with the unpleasantness attendant on the consideration of two contrary and insistent sets ofa decision of any consequence that we should be fair in considering all the reasons on both sides of the question, allowing each its just weight Nor is this as easy as it ht appear; for, asin our study of the e attitude toward any object that occupies the ely responsible for the subjective value we place upon it It is easy to be so prejudiced toward or against a line of action that the et fair consideration To be able to eliminate this personal factor to such an extent that the evidence before us on a question may be considered on its merits is a rare accomplishment
TYPES OF DECISION--A decision may be reached in a variety of ways, the most important ones of which ested by Professor James:
THE REASONABLE TYPE--One of the simplest types of decision is that in which the preponderance of motives is clearly seen to be on one side or the other, and the only rational thing to do is to decide in accordance with the weight of evidence Decisions of this type are called _reasonable_ If we discover ten reasons e should pursue a certain course of action, and only one or two reasons of equal weight e should not, then the decision ought not to be hard to make The points to watch in this case are (a) that we have really discovered all the important reasons on both sides of the case, and (b) that our feelings of personal interest or prejudice have not given soht in our scale of values
ACCIDENTAL TYPE: EXTERNAL MOTIVES--It is to be doubted whether as many of our decisions are made under i between two sets of motives, unable to decide between them, when a third factor enters which is not really related to the question at all, but which finally dictates the decision nevertheless For exao on an excursion or stay at ho froainst the expense whichthe work done on time At this point, while as yet we have been unable to decide, a friend co our own decision by appealing to him, ”You tell me what to do!” Ho of us have never said in effect if not in words, ”I will do this or that if you will”! Ho have never taken advantage of a rainy day to stay froement! Ho have not allowed important questions to be decided by some trivial or accidental factor not really related to the choice in the least!
This form of decision is _accidental decision_ It does not rest on motives which are vitally related to the case, but rather on the accident of external circumstances The person who habitually makes his decisions in this way lacks power of will He does not hold hiathered the evidence before him, and then himself direct his attention to the best line of action and so secure its perforoes with the crowd, he shi+rks responsibility
ACCIDENTAL TYPE: SUBJECTIVE MOTIVES--A second type of _accidental_ decisionbetween two lines of action which are see motive enters the field; when no external factor appears, and no advising friend co thrust upon us, we tire of the worry and strain of deliberation and say to ourselves, ”This thing must be settled one way or the other pretty soon; I am tired of the whole matter” When we have reached this point we are likely to shut our eyes to the evidence in the case, and decide largely upon the whiret our decision the next instant, but without any ret than we had for the decision
It is evident that such a decision as this does not rest on valid motives but rather on the accident of subjective conditions Habitual decisions of this type are an evidence of a mental laziness or a mental inco the facts bearing on a case He cannot hold theainst each other until one side outweighs the other and dictates the decision Of course the re oneself to be pushed into a decision simply to escape the unpleasantness of a state of indecision, or the necessity of searching for further evidence which will make the decision easier
On the other hand, it is possible to for to conclusions when the evidence is all before us This gives us the mental dawdler, the person ill spend several ony of indecision over whether to carry an umbrella on this particular trip; whether to wear black shoes or tan shoes today; whether to go calling or to stay at home and write letters this afternoon Such a person is usually in a stew over soy in fussing over trivial things that he is incapable of handling larger ones If we are certain that we have all the facts in a given case before us, and have given each its due weight so far as our judgained by delaying the decision Nor is there any occasion to change the decision after it has once beenon the case
DECISION UNDER EFFORT--The highest type of decision is that in which effort is the deter factor The pressure of external circuh to overcome a calm and determined _I will_ Two possible lines of actionleads toward the one; in addition, inclination, friends, honors, all beckon in the same direction From the other course our very nature shrinks; duty alone bids us take this line, and promises no rewards except the approval of conscience Here is the crucial point in human experience; the supreme test of the individual; the lastat this point ative--that of independent choice; failing here, he reverts toward the lower forer the master of his own destiny, but blown about by the winds of chance And it behooves us to win in this battle We ame and yet not fail, because we have done our best; if we fail in the conflict of motives we have planted a seed of weakness from which we shall at last harvest defeat
Jean Valjean, the galley slave of almost a score of years, escapes and lives an honest life He wins the respect and admiration of friends; he is elected ht of his prosperity he reads one day that a man has been arrested in another town for the escaped convict, Jean Valjean, and is about to be sent to the galleys Now comes the supreme test in Jean Valjean's life Shall he remain the honored, respected citizen and let an innocent -sought criain have the collar riveted on his neck and take his place at the oars? He spends one awful night of conflict in which contendinghe has won He has saved his ives himself up to the officers Nor could he do otherwise and still remain a _man_