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of animal n & ture . Whatever , then , is purely animal in its nature man must partake of , for man is an animal ,, and something more . But the brute partakes not of that which constitutes the exalted nature of man . It is not reason , however , in its popular sense , which ..
distinguishes man from the brute , although it is just possible ( as Dugald Stewart has suggested ) that the higher processes of ratiocination , such as abstract induction , or even the faculty of generalisation in its more subtle and recondite development , may be peculiar to man .
We shall now endeavour to trace the links of this ravelled chain , by observing the actions or movements of animate and inanimate matter , in a series commencing in the lowest order of being , the inorganic , and rising ' , to . the organized tribes of vegetables and animals , and , ultimately , up to man himself- We shall then $ ee where instinct begins in the series , and where it ends ; and next , we shall
Jearn what it is , and lor what purposes it was bestowed * Action , or motion , is the constant condition of all created matter . We know of nothing in the whole universe absolutely at rest . But the sources of motion are various . Inorganized matter , or that which has . no life , moves . Every atom of which this globe consists , every grain of sand , every drop of water , every particle of gas , is
spinning perpetually round the axis of the earth , as well as whirling incessantly round the sun . The sun himself , and all his fellow stars , are ever revolving round some distant centre , and this around others yet more distant . Here , then , is motion , perpetual motion , the source of which is a universal principle of attraction in all matter , called , when it acts on vast masses , the attraction of gravitation .
This motion is strictly mechanical , and is uninfluenced by the laws of chemistry , as well as by the laws of life . The discharge of a bullet or cannon ball , or of ignited gunpowder , the effervescence of sodawater or champagne , is another kind of motion , depending upon chemical attraction . Lightning , galvanic action , & c , originate in electric attraction or repulsion ; the movements of the magnetic
needle m the attraction of magnetism . All these are instances of spontaneous action in inorganic or dead matter . But living beings move or act in obedience to other laws—the laws of vital * attraction . The vital principle gives rise , first , to simply organic or involuntary actions ; secondly , to instinctive , actions ; thirdly , to rational actions . 1 . Involuntary actions . These are of the lowest and simplest order , and appear to be but one step removed from the changes in
inanimate matter , produced by chemical or electro-magnetic attraction or affinity . In fact , these actions are in part chemical , in part mechanical , and in part vital : for we find the influence of the living principle controlling , and directing , and modifying the agencies of
gravitation , chemistry , electricity , and magnetism . These actions are constantly going on in every portion of every structure endowed with life , from the most simple of vegetable forms to the complicated structure of the animal , and even the human mechanism . Some writers have confounded these with instinctive actions , but they have a very
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
of animal n & ture . Whatever , then , is purely animal in its nature man must partake of , for man is an animal ,, and something more . But the brute partakes not of that which constitutes the exalted nature of man . It is not reason , however , in its popular sense , which ..
distinguishes man from the brute , although it is just possible ( as Dugald Stewart has suggested ) that the higher processes of ratiocination , such as abstract induction , or even the faculty of generalisation in its more subtle and recondite development , may be peculiar to man .
We shall now endeavour to trace the links of this ravelled chain , by observing the actions or movements of animate and inanimate matter , in a series commencing in the lowest order of being , the inorganic , and rising ' , to . the organized tribes of vegetables and animals , and , ultimately , up to man himself- We shall then $ ee where instinct begins in the series , and where it ends ; and next , we shall
Jearn what it is , and lor what purposes it was bestowed * Action , or motion , is the constant condition of all created matter . We know of nothing in the whole universe absolutely at rest . But the sources of motion are various . Inorganized matter , or that which has . no life , moves . Every atom of which this globe consists , every grain of sand , every drop of water , every particle of gas , is
spinning perpetually round the axis of the earth , as well as whirling incessantly round the sun . The sun himself , and all his fellow stars , are ever revolving round some distant centre , and this around others yet more distant . Here , then , is motion , perpetual motion , the source of which is a universal principle of attraction in all matter , called , when it acts on vast masses , the attraction of gravitation .
This motion is strictly mechanical , and is uninfluenced by the laws of chemistry , as well as by the laws of life . The discharge of a bullet or cannon ball , or of ignited gunpowder , the effervescence of sodawater or champagne , is another kind of motion , depending upon chemical attraction . Lightning , galvanic action , & c , originate in electric attraction or repulsion ; the movements of the magnetic
needle m the attraction of magnetism . All these are instances of spontaneous action in inorganic or dead matter . But living beings move or act in obedience to other laws—the laws of vital * attraction . The vital principle gives rise , first , to simply organic or involuntary actions ; secondly , to instinctive , actions ; thirdly , to rational actions . 1 . Involuntary actions . These are of the lowest and simplest order , and appear to be but one step removed from the changes in
inanimate matter , produced by chemical or electro-magnetic attraction or affinity . In fact , these actions are in part chemical , in part mechanical , and in part vital : for we find the influence of the living principle controlling , and directing , and modifying the agencies of
gravitation , chemistry , electricity , and magnetism . These actions are constantly going on in every portion of every structure endowed with life , from the most simple of vegetable forms to the complicated structure of the animal , and even the human mechanism . Some writers have confounded these with instinctive actions , but they have a very