reaction. McDougall defines an instinct as "an inherited or innate
psycho-physical disposition which determines its possessor to perceive
or pay attention to objects of a certain class, to experience an
emotional excitement of a particular quality upon perceiving such an
object, and to act in regard to it in a particular manner, or at least
to experience an impulse to such action." This is just what an
instinct is,--an inherited disposition to notice, to feel, and to want
to act in certain ways in certain situations. It is the something
which makes us act when we cannot explain why, the something that goes
deeper than reason, and that links us to all other human
beings,--those who live to-day and those who have gone before.

It is true that East is East and West is West, but the two do meet in
the common foundation of our human nature. The likeness between men
and between races is far greater and far more fundamental than the
differences can ever be.

=Firing Up the Engine.= Purpose is writ large across the face of an
instinct, and that purpose is always toward action. Whenever a
situation arises which demands instantaneous action, the instinct is
the means of securing it. Planted within the creature is a tendency
which makes it perceive and feel and act in the appropriate way. It
will be noticed that there are three distinct parts to the process,
corresponding to intellect, emotion, will. The initial intellectual
part makes us sensitive to certain situations, makes us recognize an
object as meaningful and significant, and waves the flag for the
emotion; the emotion fires up the engine, pulls the levers all over
the body that release its energy and get it ready for action, and
pushes the button that calls into the mind an intense, almost
irresistible desire or impulse to act. Once aroused, the emotion and