Boris Sidis

“ The functioning moments of a highly organized psychic being, at any point of time, present a hierarchy of moments differing not only in degree of consciousness, but also in the type of structure and function. Moments-consciousness from the lowest to the highest, from the simplest to the most complex, from the desultory type to the recognitive type of self-consciousness all are present in the adult stage of the most highly organized psychic life. ”

“ In specific recognition the present self projects the bit of representative experience into the past self which is felt to be identical with the former in the series of selves to which the reproduction of the moment gives rise. The highest recognitive moment, or moment of self-consciousness may be represented as a series of selves projected in the time schema the preceding selves being synthetized by each succeeding self. ”

“ The recognitive moment uses the idea as a means to reproduce its former experience without actually having them over again. The representation in the lower form of moment is so bound up with the percept that the function of recognition is but implicit, and becomes explicit in the higher forms, when the ideational or representative elements become completely free and appear in mental trains, or in series of associated ideas. ”

“ To effect a modification and new adaptation to changes in the environment the moments of the desultory type have no other mode of modification but by the slowly working factors of spontaneous variations and natural selection, a process of adaptation and useful modification prolonged throughout the course of generations. ”

“ Representative elements, being free, can enter into different modes of combinations, and thus form adjustments and adaptations with an ease of which the primary and secondary sensory elements of the lower moments do not admit. This freedom of movement in the formation of new representative combinations is an important factor in organic life, as it gives the organism that possesses this variation an ad- vantage in the struggle for existence. Adaptation can be made for the future from the experiences of the past. ”

“ The adaptations of the different forms of the synthetic type are greatly facilitated, and the course of the process is so much foreshortened that it becomes reduced to the life-existence of the given individual organisms. The adaptations are brought about by the slow process of chance success and error, and the whole series of modifications must be fully and directly undergone by the organism. ”

“ Sensory nuclei surrounded by secondary sensory elements do not occur, and perceptual psychosis characteristic of the higher forms is absent in this stage of the synthetic moment, which is therefore termed the simple accumulative moment of synthetic consciousness. It is only in the higher forms of synthetic consciousness, in the compound synthetic moment that perceptual life may be said to arise. ”

“ The recognitive moments have reduced the time-elements of adaptations to changes of conditions in the external environment almost to a minimum, the series of reactions in the growth to most perfect adaptations is effected in representation, saving itself the necessity of actually undergoing a series of intervening modifications. ”

“ The ascending degree of complexity of aggregates set into activity grows in accordance with the need of complexity of adaptation, until the most complex of all aggregates is reached, the one representing the complete organization of sensori-motor adaptations of the organism as a whole. ”

“ In order to save time and energy any activity that can be carried out by the lower aggregates is directly responded to by the less complex and more fixed moments. The lowermost moments are the easiest to gain access to by the external stimuli, and in case the adaptation is simple the response immediately follows without any reference to higher aggregates. Should, however, the stimulus be under conditions where more complex adaptations are requisite then the next higher aggregate is set into activity. ”

“ From this standpoint, then, the subconscious may be divided into two regions, the one including all the moments belonging to that of the recognitive type, the other comprising all the moments belonging to the lower types. ”