eneral disposition to these sentiments is inborn. Inborn, also, is
the association of specific bodily processes with the corresponding
mental states: blushing, with the sentiment of shame; retching and
vomiting, with the sentiment of disgust; these associations are
certainly not chance products of education. The only point in doubt is,
to what extent the tendency is inborn to experience these sentiments as
a result of certain specific stimuli. By some it is assumed, that when
we experience disgust at the sight of certain animals--a worm, for
instance--such concrete reactions depend upon inborn dispositions;
whereupon the further problem emerges, how did our ancestors acquire the
disposition they have transmitted to us, their descendants. Others
believe that influences operating after birth have led to the
association with the sight or idea of the worm of the tendency to feel
disgust. Very early in life, the child has seen others exhibit disgust
at a worm; doubtless he has often been told how disgusting this animal
is; and thus gradually the sentiment of disgust has become associated
with the sight or the idea of the worm.[129] With the sentiment of
shame, similar conditions obtain. If a human being feels shame in
connexion with certain matters, and therefore avoids them, this may
depend upon influences operating in the individual life (imitation,
education, suggestion, &c.), by which the feeling of shame has been
associated with certain perceptions. On the other hand, it is possible
that shame may be dependent upon a special inborn disposition. Certain
processes in the animal world--for example, the fact that many animals
deposit their excrement in hidden places, and the fact that bitches and
other female animals sometimes behave in a way which is interpreted as
the exhibition of shame--may be regarded as the result of an inborn
disposition. But others refer to the slight degree in which little girls
appear to feel shame, as an indication that this sentiment is acquired
during the individual life. Undoubtedly, we sometimes find
manifestations of shame in very early childhood. Sikorsky[130] reports
that his son exhibited typical shame at the early age of three and a
half years. The boy was washing himself, having for this purpose taken
off his coat and bared the upper part of the body. When his father
unexpectedly entered the room, the boy was ashamed and startled, and
said pleadingly, as he endeavoured to cover himself by