Let us now consider the internal changes, that is, those which are
produced by the voluntary movements of our body and which are
accompanied by muscular changes. They give rise to the two following
observations, analogous to those we have just made on the subject of
external changes.
1. I may suppose that my body has moved from one point to another, but
that the same _attitude_ is retained; all the parts of the body have
therefore retained or resumed the same _relative_ situation, although
their absolute situation in space may have varied. I may suppose that
not only has the position of my body changed, but that its attitude is
no longer the same, that, for instance, my arms which before were folded
are now stretched out.
I should therefore distinguish the simple changes of position without
change of attitude, and the changes of attitude. Both would appear to me
under form of muscular sensations. How then am I led to distinguish
them? It is that the first may serve to correct an external change, and
that the others can not, or at least can only give an imperfect
correction.
This fact I proceed to explain as I would explain it to some one who
already knew geometry, but it need not thence be concluded that it is
necessary already to know geometry to make this distinction; before
knowing geometry I ascertain the fact (experimentally, so to speak),
without being able to explain it. But merely to make the distinction
between the two kinds of change, I do not need to _explain_ the fact, it
suffices me _to ascertain_ it.
However that may be, the explanation is easy. Suppose that an exterior
object is displaced; if we wish the different parts of our body to
resume with regard to this object their initial relative position, it is
necessary that these different parts should have resumed likewise their
initial relative position with regard to one another. Only the internal
changes which satisfy this latter condition will be capable of
correcting the external change produced by the displacement of that
object. If, therefore, the relative position of my eye with regard to my
finger has changed, I shall still be able to replace the eye in its
initial relative situation with regard to the object and reestablish
thus the primitive visual sensations, but then the relative position of
the finger with regard to the object will have changed and the tactile
sensations will not be reestablished.
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