Inasmuch as new objects may always be advantageous, it is better that an animal should not absolutely fear them.But, inasmuch as they may also possibly be harmful, it is better that he should not be quite indifferent to them either, but on the whole remaining on the survive, ascertain as much about them, and what they may be likely to bring forth, as he can, before settling down to rest in their presence.Some such susceptibility for being excited and irritated by the mere novelty, as such, of any movable feature of the environment must form the instinctive basis of all human curiosity; though, of course, the superstructure absorbs contributions from so many other factors of the emotional life that the original root may be hard to find.With what is called a scientific curiosity, and with metaphysical wonder, the practical instinctive root has probably nothing to do.The stimuli here are not objects, but ways of conceiving objects; and the emotions and actions they give rise to are to be classed, with many other aesthetic manifestations, sensitive and motor, as incidental features of our mental life.The philosophic brain responds to an inconsistency or a gap in its knowledge, just as the musical brain responds to a discord in what it hears.At certain ages the sensitiveness to particular gaps and the pleasure of resolving particular puzzles reach their maximum, and then it is that stores of scientific knowledge are easiest and most naturally laid in.But these effects may have had nothing to do with the uses for which the brain was originally gives; and it is probably only within a few centuries, since religious beliefs and economic applications of science have played a prominent part in the conflicts of one race with another, that they may have helped to 'select' for survival a particular type of brain.I shall have to consider this matter of incidental and supernumerary faculties in Chapter XXVIII.
Sociability and Shyness.As a gregarious animal, man is excited both by the absence and by the presence of his kind.To be alone is one of the greatest of evils for him.Solitary confinement is by many regarded as a mode of torture too cruel and unnatural for civilized countries to adopt.To one long pent up on a desert island, the sight of a human footprint or a human form in the distance would be the most tumultuously exciting of experiences.In morbid states of mind, one of the commonest symptoms is the fear of being alone.This fear may be assuaged by the presence of a little child, or even of a baby.In a case of hydrophobia known to the writer, the patient insisted on keeping his room crowded with neighbors all the while, so intense was his fear of solitude.In a gregarious animal, the perception that he is alone excites him to vigorous activity.Mr.Galton thus describes the behavior of the South African cattle whom he had such good opportunities for observing:
"Although the ox has little affection for, or interest in, his fellows, he cannot endure even a momentary separation from his herd.If he be separated from it by stratagem or force, he exhibits every sign of mental agony;
he strives with all his might to get back again, and when he succeeds he plunges into its middle to bathe his whole body with the comfort of closest companionship."
Man is also excited by the presence of his kind.The bizarre actions of dogs meeting strange dogs are not altogether without a parallel in our own constitution.We cannot meet strangers without a certain tension, or talk to them exactly as to our familiars.This is particularly the case if the stranger be an important personage.It may then happen that we not only shrink from meeting his eye, but actually cannot collect our wits or do ourselves any sort of justice in his presence.
'This odd state of mind," says Darwin, " is chiefly recognized by the face reddening, by the eyes being averted or cast down, and by awkward, nervous movements of the body....Shyness seems to depend on sensitiveness to the opinion, whether good or bad, of others, more especially with respect to external appearance.Strangers neither know nor care anything about our conduct or character, but they may, and often do, criticise our appearance.
...The consciousness of anything peculiar, or even new, in the dress, or any slight blemish on the person, and more especially on the face --
points which are likely to attract the attention of strangers -- makes the shy intolerably shy. On the other hand, in those cases in which conduct, and not personal appearance, is concerned, we are much more apt to be shy in the presence of acquaintances whose judgment we in some degree value than in that of strangers....Some persons, however, are so sensitive that the mere act of speaking to almost any one is sufficient to rouse their self-consciousness, and a slight blush is the result.Disapprobation...causes shyness and blushing much more readily than does approbation....
Persons who are exceedingly shy are rarely shy in the presence of those with whom they are quite familiar, and of whose good opinion and sympathy they are quite assured; for instance, a girl in presence of her mother....
Shyness...is closely related to fear; yet it is distinct from fear in the ordinary sense.A shy man dreads the notice of strangers, but can hardly be said to be afraid of them; he may be as bold as a hero in battle, and yet hare no self-confidence about trifles in the presence of strangers.
Almost every one is extremely nervous when first addressing a public assembly, and most men remain so through their lives."
