THE LAWS OF HABIT.

By Professor W. James.[7]

I believe that we are subject to the law of habit in consequence of the fact that we have bodies. The plasticity of the living matter of our nervous system, in short, is the reason why we do a thing with difficulty the first time, but soon do it more and more easily, and finally, with sufficient practice, do it semi-mechanically, or with hardly any consciousness at all. Our nervous systems have (in Dr. Carpenter's words) grown to the way in which they have been exercised, just as a sheet of paper or a coat, once creased or folded, tends to fall for ever afterward into the same identical folds.

Habit is thus a second nature, or rather, as the Duke of Wellington said, it is "ten times nature," at any rate as regards its importance in adult life, for the acquired habits of our training have by that time inhibited or strangled most of the natural impulsive tendencies which were originally there. Ninety-nine hundredths or possibly nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our lying down each night. Our dressing and undressing, our eating and drinking, our greetings and partings, our hat-raisings and giving way for ladies to precede, nay, even most of the forms of our common speech, are things of a type so fixed by repetition as almost to be classed as reflex actions. To each sort of impression we have an automatic, ready-made response. My very words to you now are an example of what I mean, for, having already lectured upon habit and printed a chapter about it in a book, and read the latter when in print, I find my tongue inevitably falling into old phrases and repeating almost literally what I said before.

So far as we are thus mere bundles of habit, we are stereotyped creatures, imitators and copiers of our past selves. And since this, under any circumstances, is what we always tend to become, it follows first of all that the teacher's prime concern should be to ingrain into the pupil that assortment of habits that shall be most useful to him throughout life. Education is for behaviour, and habits are the stuff of which behaviour consists.

LA LEGI DI L'KUSTUMO,

Traduko en Ido da L. Couturat.

Me kredas, ke ni esas submisata a la lego di l'kustumo per konsequo di l'fakto, ke ni havas korpi. La plastikeso di la vivanta materyo di nia nerva sistemo, esas, abreje, la kauzo ke ni facas un kozo malfacile la unesma foyo, sed balde plu e plu facile, e fine, kun suficanta praktiko, ni facas ol mi-mekanike, o kun preske nula koncio. Nia nerva sistemi kreskis (segun la vorti di Dr. Carpenter) en la voyo en qua li esis exercita, exakte quale folyo di papero, o vesto unfoye faldita o shifonigita, tendencas falar sempre pose en la sama identa falduri.

La kustumo esas duesma naturo, o prefere, quale dicis Duko de Wellington, ol esas "dekople naturo," omnakaze per sa importo en adulta vivo; nam la aquirita kustumi di nia eduko en ta tempo impedis o strangulis max multa de la natural impulsiva tendenci, qui existas origine. Novdek nov centoni, o, posible, novcent novdek nov miloni de nia agemeso esas pure automatal e kustuma, de nia levo matene a nia kusho omnanokte. Nia vestizo e malvestizo, nia manjo e drinko, nia saluti ed adyi, nia chapel-levi et voyo-cedi por siorini preteriranta, ya mem max multa formi di nia komuna parolado, esas kozi de tipo tante fixigita per repeto, ke li povas esar klasizita quale agi reflexa. Ad omna speco de impreso ni havas automatal, tute pronta respondo. Mea ipsa paroli a vi nun esas exemplo de to, quon me pensas: nam, pro ja facir lecioni pri la kustumo ed imprimigir chapitro pri ol en libro, e lektir olca dum imprimo, me trovas mea lango falanta neeviteble en sa malnuva frazi, e repetanta preske litere, quon me dicis ante.

Segun quante ni esas tale pura faski de kustumi, ni esas stereotipita kreuri, imitanti e kopianti di nia propra pasinto. E pro ke co, en omna supozi, esas to, quo ni sempre tendencas divenar, konsequas, unesme, ke la precipua skopo di l'instruktisto devas esar inkrustar en la lernanto ta asortajo de kustumi, qua esos max utila ad il tra sa tuta vivo. L'eduko esas por la konduto, e la kustumi esas la materyo, en qua la konduto konsistas.

THE LAWS OF HABIT.

I believe that we are subject to the law of habit in consequence of the fact that we have bodies. The plasticity of the living material of our nervous system is, to put it briefly, the reason why we do a thing with difficulty the first time, but soon more and more easily, and finally, with sufficient practice, we do it half mechanically, or almost without any consciousness. Our nervous systems have grown (in Dr. Carpenter's words) in the way in which they were trained, just as a sheet of paper or a garment, once folded or crumpled, tends to fall ever after in the same identical creases.

Habit is a second nature, or rather, as the Duke of Wellington said, it is "tenfold nature," at any rate by its importance in adult life, for the acquired customs of our education by that time have impeded or strangled most of the natural impulsive tendencies which existed originally. Ninety-nine hundredths or maybe nine hundred and ninety-nine thousandths of our activity is purely automatic and habitual, from our rising in the morning to our retiring every night. Our dressing and undressing, our eating and drinking, our greetings and leave-takings, our hat-raisings and way-givings to ladies passing by, even indeed most forms of our common speech, are things of a type so well fixed by repetition, that they can be classified as reflex actions. For every kind of impression we have an automatic, ever-ready response. My very words to you now are an example of what I think, for through having already given lessons about habit, and having had a chapter printed about it in a book, and having read the latter in the course of printing, I find my tongue falling unavoidably into its old phrases and repeating almost literally what I have said before.

Inasmuch as we are thus pure bundles of habits, we are stereotyped creatures, imitators and copyists of our own past. And because this, in any case, is what we always tend to become, it follows, in the first place, that the teacher's chief object must be to incrust in the learner that set of habits which will be most useful to him throughout his whole life. Education makes for conduct, and habits are the material which conduct consists of.

[Retranslated into English by P. D. Hugon, who was unacquainted with the original before doing the retranslation, 20th January, 1910.]