The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-01
A sIMIAN INHERITANCE.
Curious Explanation Of the Cause OF Agora-
phsbia n Caustrephobia.

pfvDAa anu Ctn~ustfDpnOpin
From I've Lancet.
Agorsphobia Tor fear Of open spacesl Il not
nearly a. common a malady as its antithesis'
claustrophObla Both are curious and some-
what anomalous states Of mind. in which an
aversion. known and admitted by the sub
iect OF 10 to be irrational and absurd. never
theless dominates conduct, prompts the ex-
ecution OF irrational acts. and renders certain
rational and desirable acts impossible
II I had TO speculate on the orlgin OF these
curious and spurious Instincts, for such they
may be termed. l should assign them TO the
revival OF instincts which existed In full
force and had great biological value in our
remote ancestry. but which In most OF US
have long been obsolete. when our ances-
tors were arboreal In habit. this habit was
their salvation from extinction. Feeble In
body. destitute Of weapons and OF defensive
&rmor. devoid Of means Of concealment.
their safety from carnlvorous foes lay In the
agility with which they could climb out OF
reach. and In the accuracy with which they
could leap from hough to bough n from
tree to tree Whenever they descended 10
the ground they were In danger. IL Ii
on the ground that the greater carnivora
pursue their prey; and adapted as our an
cestors were to arboreal life, their progress
on open ground was undoubtedly less rapid
than among the tree tops, and most
probably less rapid than that Of their princi-
pal foes. Among the tree tops they were
secure. There M enemy could vie with
them In activity or hope to overtake them;
but on the ground they were at a disadvan-
tage. On the fat they had no chance against
the spring Of the panther or the speed and
wind Of the wolf; but once let them attain the
security OF the forest. and they could grin
and chatter with contempt at their helpless
enemies below. The farther they ventured
from their secure retreat the greater the
peril they we're In: the nearer their refuge. the
more complete their sense Of security. Since
instincts. using the term In the sense OF men,
tai cravings. become adapted to modes Of life.
which In turn they dictate. we may be sure
that in the arboreal stage OF thek existence
our ancestors had q very strong instructive
aversion 60 any extended excursion from
their place Of security and refuge. Near to
trees, they were In safety; far from trees,
they were In continual danger. and therefore
in continual unsasiness. In such a situation
they had an abiding and well ounded dread
and sense Of impending danger.
This Is the state OF mind which, as Il seems
TO me. lie reproduced in similar circumstan-
ces in a~goraphobla. The craving Of the sub
ject OF this malady Ia to be near. not trees.
necessarily, IL is true, but near TO some tall,
vertical structure. Away from such a struct-
ure, he has Just the feeling OF dread, OF i'm
pending danger. OF imminent disaster. OF
tOtllCNhhuk NhAAh hOOub " hhppth Nuht -
man would have who was walking through a
Jungle infested by tigers. or that a child has
when alone In the dark. And this is just such
a feeling as we may suppose our arboreal
ancestors had when they were out OF reach OF
their natural habitat. I have seen a woman
affected with a~goraphobIa get from one side
of a court to the other by not only going around
by the wall. and touching IL all the way. but
squeezing herself up against 1t. and clutchinE
at the bare surface. Sufferers from this NAL
ady cannot cross an open space. They can
not venture more than q step or two from
some vertical surface. They feel no uneasi-
ness In q colonnade. open all around them
though It be. Their reason tells them hat
their dread Is groundless, but reason is DOW
erlsss against instinct. and an imperious In
stinct shouts danger" in their ears.
The opposite malady- claustrophobia
seems to me to reproduce q state OF affairs
of much later occurrence In our racial history.
When arboreal habits at length egan to be
abandoned. and our anthropoid ancestors
began to shelter themselves in hollow trees.
in caves and holes in the ground. there must
often have been a conflict between the immeas-
urably old. primitive habit Of roostinR under
the open sky and the modern innovation Of
taking shelter from the weather. The sense
OF confinement must have been very irksome.
We may be sure that there was no sudden
revolution in the mode Of life. Thu new habit
was adopted very gradually. Only in some
very violent storm would the first indwellers
creep into a hole for shelter. and they would
soon hnd their circumscribed quarters intol-
cradle, and brave the elements as soon as the
weather began to moderate. Perhaps the
new instinct was first implanted in the young
by the parents bestowing their tender on
spring in holes during their own absence or
when cold and rain became severe, 1t is not
easy to teach an old dog new tricks; but a
young wild rabbit or squirrel taken at a very
early age from the nest. never acquires the
untameable wildness that IL so conspicuous a
feature in the character of the old. In any
case, the habit Of takiny shelter in more or
less closed spaces was a habit OF slow and
gradual requirement; and we may be sure
that IL was not acquired without many a re-
lapse and many a backsliding. We can al
most hear the jeers and SCOTS Of the stout
old Tory metropolis at the efeminaoy OF
their degenerate juniors, who should seek a
shelter that their forefathers would have
scorned. The habit has not yet been fully
acquired by all our race, for we see, even at
this late day. many persons Of human status
to whom the shelter OF a roof Is abhorrent.
and who prefer, in the worst of weather. 20
lie out under a hedgeside rather than submit
to the restraint OF roof and walls.
1t Ia to the imperfect acquisition OF this later
instinct Of seeking shelter in confined spaces.
OF IdNuCI ~ ~ " NV v ~ VI VIZ
more remote and earlier instinct OF craving
fos the open sky. and irksomeness Of contne-
ment, that the malady OF ciaustrophobia
seems 70 me to be due. In the subject Of this
malady Is revived in It's original strength that
craving for open sky and open air. for posi-
blity OF movement in every direction. which
we're ingrained In our ancestors by their free
arboreal lives. and which we're overcome
with such difficulty when first they descended
to lnhabiu terra frma. Like the sufferer from
agoraphobia. he who suffers from clsustro-
pbobia experiences the revival of an ancestral
instinct that has been Obsolete for untold
generations, but that has been lost more re-
Gently than that revived In agoraphobia.
Since Il existed down to a later date. since IL
has been more recently lost. II is more easily
revived; and this IL the reason, ] think. that
claustrophobia is so much less rare than
agoraphobia.
whatever their origin. the two maladies
are equally inveterate. They are refractory
to remedies. They are recalcitrant TO treat
ment. They endure for years. and often for
q lifetime.
TnvestiKatins the Magistrates.