It is not a capacity to
take on change of form in accord with external pressure. It lies
near the pliable elasticity by which some persons take on the
color of their surroundings while retaining their own bent. But
it is something deeper than this. It is essentially the ability
to learn from experience; the power to retain from one experience
something which is of avail in coping with the difficulties of a
later situation. This means power to modify actions on the basis
of the results of prior experiences, the power to develop
dispositions. Without it, the acquisition of habits is
impossible.
It is a familiar fact that the young of the higher animals, and
especially the human young, have to learn to utilize their
instinctive reactions. The human being is born with a greater
number of instinctive tendencies than other animals. But the
instincts of the lower animals perfect themselves for appropriate
action at an early period after birth, while most of those of the
human infant are of little account just as they stand. An
original specialized power of adjustment secures immediate
efficiency, but, like a railway ticket, it is good for one route
only. A being who, in order to use his eyes, ears, hands, and
legs, has to experiment in making varied combinations of their
reactions, achieves a control that is flexible and varied. A
chick, for example, pecks accurately at a bit of food in a few
hours after hatching.
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