The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-07-18
The. Evolution of Intelligence.

. DIR. Fiske, in his supplementary course on
Physics and Metaphysics; at Harvard Cni-
yersity, in his eleventh lecture. delivered a
few days ago, treats of "The Evolution OF
!" Intelligence" He. opens with tue almost
universally received statement that the
amount of intelligence manifested by any
vertebrate animal depends. to certain ex-
tent, upon the amount OF nerve tissue, ih-
.tegrated in it's; cephalic ganglia, and espe-
.cially in thecerebrum. Among other exam
ples, he gives ona Of skull ho sawsof an
ancient mound building Indian. Though an
adult skull, its brain case was smaller than
that OF one OF four infants six months old,
while the jews projected so enormously as
ito give to the entire Uranium adog.like ex-
preston, such as is seen in some OF the
balloons. The craniar capacity Of on ave-
rage European exceeds that ofrthe lowest
sayases by more than thirty
cubic inches, and the expression is chiefly in
the upper and anterior portions
DR.. Fiske is no believer in phrenology,
and takes occasion to "show up !" the
.bumptious art. This only en- passant. IN
regard to that most complex OF physiologi-
cal auestions-how the brain acts-:the Pro-
fessor says:
mThe continual redistribution of nervous
energy among the cells Of the brain Is the OBJ
,ectiye side of the process Of which the SUBJ
jectiye sldeis the; recompounding OF impres-
sions. If I'VE may for moment unduly SIM
piify the matter, itIusy be said that for every
renewed grouping of impressions, for every
revived association Of ideas, there is nervous
disehah,e between two or more cells, along
formerly.used sets Of transit-fbres; and for
every fresh grouping of ofimpressions, for every
new connection of Ideas, there is discharge
along new transit-iines. This implies vast
amount of differentiation and lntegrat!on IN
the brain; and this assumption Is fully sustain
ed by sound deduction and 0y observation.
Not only does the brain increase ln size aud
heterogeneity during the first twenty-five
years of life, but ordinarily 1t Increases IN
hete-ogeneity, and often in size, for many
years later; and in some cases 1t Increases IN
heterogeneity until the end OF life. The brain
Of a young child is in homogeneity- like the
brain Of an ape; the burrows are shallow, sym
metrical, and few in number. With advance
ing years they increase in.number, depth and
irregularity; and the increase Is most marked
In those persons who do the most train-WorK.
ssIl the acquisition OF new idea Is attended
by passage of a wave. of molecular motion
along new path, and IT recollection is state
of consciousness attending the trahsmisaion
Of q later wave along the same path, we have
an adequate physical Interpretation OF the fact
that the repetition OF an idea Is favorable to
the recollection OF it. And we have also The
physical Interpretation of habit and prejudice.
Molecular motions that have been repeatedly
transmitted between particular groups OF
Enerve-cells, end BY establishing more or less
intricate webs of transit-lines which cannot be
obliterated. No effort can prevent their occa-
| sional recurrence along these lines, or estao-
lish new plexus of transit-llnes, involving
| the arrangement Of the old ones. Late IN
| life, when the ratio of repair to waste Is gen.
orally diminished, when the nutrition OF the
cerebral tissue Is impaired, when the pulling
to pieces and putting together OF molecular
clusters IN which nutrition consists goes on
slowly, then the formation OF new sets of
transitlines becomes especially difficult; and
hence, as we say, the shaking of Of old habits
and prejudices, and the acquiring Of new and
strange ideas, is next 10 impossible. It is
proverbially hard to teach an old dog new
! tricks.