Tertium Organum

instinct
may 
mean. I am speaking now not only of popular but also of 'scientific' 
psychology.
Let us, however, try to examine what instinct is and what animal mentality
is like. In the first place, let us examine the 
actions
of an animal and 
determine in what way they differ from ours. If they are instinctive actions, 
what docs it mean? 
What actions are there in general and what is the difference between them? 
We distinguish in living beings reflex actions, instinctive actions, rational 
actions, automatic actions. 

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Reflex actions are simply 
responses by motion,
reactions to external irritations, 
always occurring in the same manner, irrespective of their usefulness or uselessness, 
expediency or inexpediency in a given instance. Their origin and laws are the outcome 
of the simple 
irritability of
the cell. 
What is meant by irritability of the cell and what are these laws? 
By irritability of the cell is meant its capacity to respond by motion to external 
irritations. Experiments with the simplest living one-cell organisms proved that 
irritability 
is governed by strictly definite laws. The cell responds by motion to an 
external irritation. The force of the responsive motion is increased with the increase of 
the force of irritation, but it has not been possible to establish the exact ratio. In order 
to provoke a responsive motion, the irritation must be sufficiently strong. Every 
irritation experienced leaves a 
certain trace 
in the cell, rendering it more susceptible to 
further irritations. This is proved by the fact that to a 
repeated
irritation of an 
equal 
force
the cell responds with a stronger movement than to the first irritation. And, if 
irritations are further repeated, the cell will respond to them with an increasingly 
stronger motion, up to a certain limit. Having reached this limit, the cell becomes 
tired, 
as it were, and begins to respond to the same irritation by increasingly weaker 
reactions. The cell appears to become used to the irritation. It becomes for the cell part 
of its 
permanent surroundings
and the cell ceases to react to it, for it reacts only to 
changes
in the permanent conditions. If from the very beginning the irritation is too 
weak to produce a responsive motion, it still leaves a certain 
invisible
trace in the cell. 
This is shown by the fact that, by repeating weak irritations, it is possible to make the 
cell react to them. 
Thus in the 
laws of irritability
we see what seem to be the rudiments of the 
capacities of memory, fatigue and habit. The cell produces the illusion of a 
being, 
which, if not conscious and reasoning, is at least capable of remembering, capable of 
forming habits and of getting tired. If we are almost deceived by a cell, how much 
easier it is for us to be deceived by an animal with its complex life. 
But let us return to our analysis of 
actions.
By reflex actions of an organism are 
meant actions where the whole organism or its separate parts act 
as the cell does,
i.e. 
within the limits of the law of irritability. We observe such actions both in man and in 
animals. A shudder runs through a man from sudden cold or from an unexpected touch. 
He blinks if some object quickly approaches or touches him. If a man sits with his leg 
hanging loosely, his foot jerks forward if the tendon immediately below the knee is hit. 
These movements happen in-

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dependently of consciousness and may happen even contrary to consciousness. As a 
rule consciousness perceives them as an already accomplished fact. And these 
movements need not necessarily be expedient. The foot will jerk forward if the tendon 
is hit even if there is a knife or fire in front of it. 
By instinctive actions are meant actions which are expedient but performed without 
any consciousness of