Zoonomia Volume I Part 3

4. a.s.sociate motions. That exertion or change of the sensorium, which accompanies fibrous motions, either simply subsides, or is succeeded by sensation or volition, or it produces other fibrous motions; it is then termed a.s.sociation, and the a.s.sociate motions are those contractions of the muscular fibres, or of the organs of sense, that are immediately consequent to this exertion or change of the sensorium.

SECT. VII.

OF IRRITATIVE MOTIONS.

I. 1. _Some muscular motions are excited by perpetual irritations._ 2.

_Others more frequently by sensations._ 3. _Others by volition. Case of involuntary stretchings in paralytic limbs._ 4. _Some sensual motions are excited by perpetual irritations._ 5. _Others more frequently by sensation or volition._

II. 1. _Muscular motions excited by perpetual irritations occasionally become obedient sensation and to volition._ 2. _And the sensual motions._

III. 1. _Other muscular motions are a.s.sociated with the irritative ones._ 2. _And other ideas with irritative ones. Of letters, language, hieroglyphics. Irritative ideas exist without our attention to them._

I. 1. Many of our muscular motions are excited by perpetual irritations, as those of the heart and arterial system by the circ.u.mfluent blood. Many other of them are excited by intermitted irritations, as those of the stomach and bowels by the aliment we swallow; of the bile-ducts by the bile; of the kidneys, pancreas, and many other glands, by the peculiar fluids they separate from the blood; and those of the lacteal and other absorbent vessels by the chyle, lymph, and moisture of the atmosphere.

These motions are accelerated or r.e.t.a.r.ded, as their correspondent irritations are increased or diminished, without our attention or consciousness, in the same manner as the various secretions of fruit, gum, resin, wax, and, honey, are produced in the vegetable world, and as the juices of the earth and the moisture of the atmosphere are absorbed by their roots and foliage.

2. Other muscular motions, that are most frequently connected with our sensations, as those of the sphincters of the bladder and a.n.u.s, and the musculi erectores p.e.n.i.s, were originally excited into motion by irritation, for young children make water, and have other evacuations without attention to these circ.u.mstances; "et primis etiam ab incunabulis tenduntur saepius puerorum penes, amore nondum expergefacto." So the nipples of young women are liable to become turgid by irritation, long before they are in a situation to be excited by the pleasure of giving milk to the lips of a child.

3. The contractions of the larger muscles of our bodies, that are most frequently connected with volition, were originally excited into action by internal irritations: as appears from the stretching or yawning of all animals after long sleep. In the beginning of some fevers this irritation of the muscles produces perpetual stretching and yawning; in other periods of fever an universal restlessness arises from the same cause, the patient changing the att.i.tude of his body every minute. The repeated struggles of the foetus in the uterus must be owing to this internal irritation: for the foetus can have no other inducement to move its limbs but the taedium or irksomeness of a continued posture.

The following case evinces, that the motions of stretching the limbs after a continued att.i.tude are not always owing to the power of the will. Mr.

Dean, a mason, of Austry in Leicestershire, had the spine of the third vertebra of the back enlarged; in some weeks his lower extremities became feeble, and at length quite paralytic: neither the pain of blisters, the heat of fomentations, nor the utmost efforts of the will could produce the least motion in these limbs; yet twice or thrice a day for many months his feet, legs, and thighs, were affected for many minutes with forceable stretchings, attended with the sensation of fatigue; and he at length recovered the use of his limbs, though the spine continued protuberant. The same circ.u.mstance is frequently seen in a less degree in the common hemiplagia; and when this happens, I have believed repeated and strong shocks of electricity to have been of great advantage.

4. In like manner the various organs of sense are originally excited into motion by various external stimuli adapted to this purpose, which motions are termed perceptions or ideas; and many of these motions during our waking hours are excited by perpetual irritation, as those of the organs of hearing and of touch. The former by the constant low indistinct noises that murmur around us, and the latter by the weight of our bodies on the parts which support them; and by the unceasing variations of the heat, moisture, and pressure of the atmosphere; and these sensual motions, precisely as the muscular ones above mentioned, obey their correspondent irritations without our attention or consciousness.

5. Other cla.s.ses of our ideas are more frequently excited by our sensations of pleasure or pain, and others by volition: but that these have all been originally excited by stimuli from external objects, and only vary in their combinations or reparations, has been fully evinced by Mr. Locke: and are by him termed the ideas of perception in contradistinction to those, which he calls the ideas of reflection.

II. 1. These muscular motions, that are excited by perpetual irritation, are nevertheless occasionally excitable by the sensations of pleasure or pain, or by volition; as appears by the palpitation of the heart from fear, the increased secretion of saliva at the sight of agreeable food, and the glow on the skin of those who are ashamed. There is an instance told in the Philosophical Transactions of a man, who could for a time stop the motion of his heart when he pleased; and Mr. D. has often told me, be could so far increase the peristaltic motion of his bowels by voluntary efforts, as to produce an evacuation by stool at any time in half an hour.

2. In like manner the sensual motions, or ideas, that are excited by perpetual irritation, are nevertheless occasionally excited by sensation or volition; as in the night, when we listen under the influence of fear, or from voluntary attention, the motions excited in the organ of hearing by the whispering of the air in our room, the pulsation of our own arteries, or the faint beating of a distant watch, become objects of perception.

III. 1. Innumerable trains or tribes of other motions are a.s.sociated with these muscular motions which are excited by irritation; as by the stimulus of the blood in the right chamber of the heart, the lungs are induced to expand themselves; and the pectoral and intercostal muscles, and the diaphragm, act at the same time by their a.s.sociations with them. And when the pharinx is irritated by agreeable food, the muscles of deglut.i.tion are brought into action by a.s.sociation. Thus when a greater light falls on the eye, the iris is brought into action without our attention; and the ciliary process, when the focus is formed before or behind the retina, by their a.s.sociations with the increased irritative motions of the organ of vision.

Many common actions of life are produced in a similar manner. If a fly settle on my forehead, whilst I am intent on my present occupation, I dislodge it with my finger, without exciting my attention or breaking the train of my ideas.

2. In like manner the irritative ideas suggest to us many other trains or tribes of ideas that are a.s.sociated with them. On this kind of connection, language, letters, hieroglyphics, and every kind of symbol, depend. The symbols themselves produce irritative ideas, or sensual motions, which we do not attend to; and other ideas, that are succeeded by sensation, are excited by their a.s.sociation with them. And as these irritative ideas make up a part of the chain of our waking thoughts, introducing other ideas that engage our attention, though themselves are unattended to, we find it very difficult to investigate by what steps many of our hourly trains of ideas gain their admittance.

It may appear paradoxical, that ideas can exist, and not be attended to; but all our perceptions are ideas excited by irritation, and succeeded by sensation. Now when these ideas excited by irritation give us neither pleasure nor pain, we cease to attend to them. Thus whilst I am walking through that grove before my window, I do not run against the trees or the benches, though my thoughts are strenuously exerted on some other object.

This leads us to a distinct knowledge of irritative ideas, for the idea of the tree or bench, which I avoid, exists on my retina, and induces by a.s.sociation the action of certain locomotive muscles; though neither itself nor the actions of those muscles engage my attention.

Thus whilst we are conversing on this subject, the tone, note, and articulation of every individual word forms its correspondent irritative idea on the organ of hearing; but we only attend to the a.s.sociated ideas, that are attached by habit to these irritative ones, and are succeeded by sensation; thus when we read the words "PRINTING-PRESS" we do not attend to the shape, size, or existence of the letters which compose these words, though each of them excites a correspondent irritative motion of our organ of vision, but they introduce by a.s.sociation our idea of the most useful of modern inventions; the capacious reservoir of human knowledge, whose branching streams diffuse sciences, arts, and morality, through all nations and all ages.

SECT. VIII.

OF SENSITIVE MOTIONS.

I. 1. _Sensitive muscular motions were originally excited into action by irritation._ 2. _And sensitive sensual motions, ideas of imagination, dreams._ II. 1. _Sensitive muscular motions are occasionally obedient to volition._ 2. _And sensitive sensual motions._ III. 1. _Other muscular motions are a.s.sociated with the sensitive ones._ 2. _And other sensual motions._

I. 1. Many of the motions of our muscles, that are excited into action by irritation, are at the same time accompanied with painful or pleasurable sensations; and at length become by habit causable by the sensations. Thus the motions of the sphincters of the bladder and a.n.u.s were originally excited into action by irritation; for young children give no attention to these evacuations; but as soon as they become sensible of the inconvenience of obeying these irritations, they suffer the water or excrement to acc.u.mulate, till it disagreeably affects them; and the action of those sphincters is then in consequence of this disagreeable sensation. So the secretion of saliva, which in young children is copiously produced by irritation, and drops from their mouths, is frequently attended with the agreeable sensation produced by the mastication of tasteful food;, till at length the sight of such food to a hungry person excites into action these salival glands; as is seen in the slavering of hungry dogs.

The motions of those muscles, which are affected by lascivious ideas, and those which are exerted in smiling, weeping, starting from fear, and winking at the approach of danger to the eye, and at times the actions of every large muscle of the body become causable by our sensations. And all these motions are performed with strength and velocity in proportion to the energy of the sensation that excites them, and the quant.i.ty of sensorial power.

2. Many of the motions of our organs of sense, or ideas, that were originally excited into action by irritation, become in like manner more frequently causable by our sensations of pleasure or pain. These motions are then termed the ideas of imagination, and make up all the scenery and transactions of our dreams. Thus when any painful or pleasurable sensations possess us, as of love, anger, fear; whether in our sleep or waking hours, the ideas, that have been formerly excited by the objects of these sensations, now vividly recur before us by their connection with these sensations themselves. So the fair smiling virgin, that excited your love by her presence, whenever that sensation recurs, rises before you in imagination; and that with all the pleasing circ.u.mstances, that had before engaged your attention. And in sleep, when you dream under the influence of fear, all the robbers, fires, and precipices, that you formerly have seen or heard of, arise before you with terrible vivacity. All these sensual motions, like the muscular ones above mentioned, are performed with strength and velocity in proportion to the energy of the sensation of pleasure or pain, which excites them, and the quant.i.ty of sensorial power.

II. 1. Many of these muscular motions above described, that are most frequently excited by our sensations, are nevertheless occasionally causable by volition; for we can smile or frown spontaneously, can make water before the quant.i.ty or acrimony of the urine produces a disagreeable sensation, and can voluntarily masticate a nauseous drug, or swallow a bitter draught, though our sensation would strongly dissuade us.

2. In like manner the sensual motions, or ideas, that are most frequently excited by our sensations, are nevertheless occasionally causeable by volition, as we can spontaneously call up our last night's dream before us, tracing it industriously step by step through all its variety of scenery and transaction; or can voluntarily examine or repeat the ideas, that have been excited by out disgust or admiration.

III. 1. Innumerable trains or tribes of motions are a.s.sociated with these sensitive muscular motions above mentioned; as when a drop of water falling into the wind-pipe disagreeably affects the air-vessels of the lungs, they are excited into violent action; and with these sensitive motions are a.s.sociated the actions of the pectoral and intercostal muscles, and the diaphragm; till by their united and repeated succussions the drop is returned through the larinx. The same occurs when any thing disagreeably affects the nostrils, or the stomach, or the uterus; variety of muscles are excited by a.s.sociation into forcible action, not to be suppressed by the utmost efforts of the will; as in sneezing, vomiting, and parturition.

2. In like manner with these sensitive sensual motions, or ideas of imagination, are a.s.sociated many other trains or tribes of ideas, which by some writers of metaphysics have been cla.s.sed under the terms of resemblance, causation, and contiguity; and will be more fully treated of hereafter.

SECT. IX.

OF VOLUNTARY MOTIONS.

I. 1. _Voluntary muscular motions are originally excited by irritations._ 2. _And voluntary ideas. Of reason._ II. 1. _Voluntary muscular motions are occasionally causable by sensations._ 2. _And voluntary ideas._ III. 1. _Voluntary muscular motions are occasionally obedient to irritations._ 2. _And voluntary ideas._ IV. 1. _Voluntary muscular motions are a.s.sociated with other muscular motions._ 2. _And voluntary ideas._

When pleasure or pain affect the animal system, many of its motions both muscular and sensual are brought into action; as was shewn in the preceding section, and were called sensitive motions. The general tendency of these motions is to arrest and to possess the pleasure, or to dislodge or avoid the pain: but if this cannot immediately be accomplished, desire or aversion are produced, and the motions in consequence of this new faculty of the sensorium are called voluntary.

I. 1. Those muscles of the body that are attached to bones, have in general their princ.i.p.al connections with volition, as I move my pen or raise my body. These motions were originally excited by irritation, as was explained in the section on that subject, afterwards the sensations of pleasure or pain, that accompanied the motions thus excited, induced a repet.i.tion of them; and at length many of them were voluntarily practised in succession or in combination for the common purposes of life, as in learning to walk, or to speak; and are performed with strength and velocity in proportion to the energy of the volition, that excites them, and the quant.i.ty of sensorial power.

2. Another great cla.s.s of voluntary motions consists of the ideas of recollection. We will to repeat a certain train of ideas, as of the alphabet backwards; and if any ideas, that do not belong to this intended train, intrude themselves by other connections, we will to reject them, and voluntarily persist in the determined train. So at my approach to a house which I have but once visited, and that at the distance of many months, I will to recollect the names of the numerous family I expect to see there, and I do recollect them.

On this voluntary recollection of ideas our faculty of reason depends, as it enables us to acquire an idea of the dissimilitude of any two ideas.

Thus if you voluntarily produce the idea of a right-angled triangle, and then of a square; and after having excited these ideas repeatedly, you excite the idea of their difference, which is that of another right-angled triangle inverted over the former; you are said to reason upon this subject, or to compare your ideas.

These ideas of recollection, like the muscular motions above mentioned, were originally excited by the irritation of external bodies, and were termed ideas of perception: afterwards the pleasure or pain, that accompanied these motions, induced a repet.i.tion of them in the absence of the external body, by which they were first excited; and then they were termed ideas of imagination. At length they become voluntarily practised in succession or in combination for the common purposes of life; as when we make ourselves masters of the history of mankind, or of the sciences they have investigated; and are then called ideas of recollection; and are performed with strength and velocity in proportion to the energy of the volition that excites them, and the quant.i.ty of sensorial power.

II. 1. The muscular motions above described, that are most frequently obedient to the will are nevertheless occasionally causable by painful or pleasurable sensation, as in the starting from fear, and the contraction of the calf of the leg in the cramp.

2. In like manner the sensual motions, or ideas, that are most frequently connected with volition, are nevertheless occasionally causable by painful or pleasurable sensation. As the histories of men, or the description of places, which we have voluntarily taken pains to remember, sometimes occur to us in our dreams.

III. 1. The muscular motions that are generally subservient to volition, are also occasionally causable by irritation, as in stretching the limbs after sleep, and yawning. In this manner a contraction of the arm is produced by pa.s.sing the electric fluid from the Leyden phial along its muscles; and that even though the limb is paralytic. The sudden motion of the arm produces a disagreeable sensation in the joint, but the muscles seem to be brought into action simply by irritation.

2. The ideas, that are generally subservient to the will, are in like manner occasionally excited by irritation; as when we view again an object, we have before well studied, and often recollected.

IV. 1. Innumerable trains or tribes of motions are a.s.sociated with these voluntary muscular motions above mentioned; as when I will to extend my arm to a distant object, some other muscles are brought into action, and preserve the balance of my body. And when I wish to perform any steady exertion, as in threading a needle, or chopping with an ax, the pectoral muscles are at the same time brought into action to preserve the trunk of the body motionless, and we cease to respire for a time.

2. In like manner the voluntary sensual motions, or ideas of recollection, are a.s.sociated with many other trains or tribes of ideas. As when I voluntarily recollect a gothic window, that I saw some time ago, the whole front of the cathedral occurs to me at the same time.

SECT. X.