1 40 T H E M IN D O F T H E BUY E R
a nalyz e thi s definiti on an d p oi nt o ut th e ch ar
a cteristics o f ins tinc tive a c ti on.
Characteristics of instinctive action.(^1). I t i s ve ry c ompli ca ted. I t i s no t a simple,
singl e a ct like th e wi nk o f an eye. Rath er
is i t m ad e up of a n umb e r of simpl e ac t s. Ob
serve th e bi rd a s sh e go e s th rough th e instinc
tive a c t o f n e st-b uil di n g. Sh e p erform s a
se rie s o f simpl e a c tion s : picking up a string
h e re, a twig th ere, a h ai r yonde r ; a n d l ayi ng
th em i n th e n est. In th e sa me w ay th e in
stinctive a cti ons o f h uman s c onsi st o f sep a ra te
ac ts ch ain e d t oge th e r, th ough thi s linkage
sh oul d b e inte rp re t ed acc ordin g to th e foll ow
i n g p a ra graph :
(^2). Th e word “ se ri e s i mplie s no t m erely
m ul tiplicity of a c ts b u t se quence a s well. Th e
sepa ra t e simpl e a cts c omp ri sin g a n in stinc tive
a c t alm os t invari ably oc c ur i n th e sa m e order,
a n d a s w e shall sh ow p resen tly, wi th out b eing
pla nne d by th e indivi dual. A stri kin g ex
a mpl e o f thi s will be furnish ed by th e foll ow
i ng d esc rip ti on
“ A certa in bettle of the genus S ita ris lays its eggs at the
entrance o f the subterranean galleries excavated by a kind
o f mason bee. F rom these e ggs the la rvae are hatched in
autumn as active little insects very different from the
ordinary type o f beetle grub, having six legs each a rmed
with a sha rp curved hook. In the winter they become