AUTOMATISM. In philosophical terminology this word is used in two main senses : in ethics, for the view that man is not responsible for his actions, which have, theref ore, no moral value; (2) in psychology, for all actions which are not the result of conscious endeavour. Certain actions being admittedly auto matic, Descartes maintained that, in regard to the lower animals, all action is purely mechanical. The same theory has been applied to man, with this difference that sometimes accompanying the mechanical phenomena of action, and entirely disconnected with it, are the phenomena of consciousness. Thus certain physical changes in the brain result in a given action ; the concomitant mental desire or volition is in no sense causally connected with, or prior to, the physical change. This theory, which has been maintained by T. Huxley (Science and Culture, 1881), Shadworth Hodgson (Metaphysic of Experience, 1898 and Theory of Prac tice, 187o), must be distinguished from that of the psychophys ical parallelism or the "double aspect theory," according to which both the mental state and the physical phenomena result from a so-called "mind stuff" or single substance, the material or cause of both.
Automatic acts are of two main kinds. Where the action goes on while the attention is focused on entirely different subjects (e.g., in cycling), it is purely automatic. On the other hand, if the attention is fixed on the end or on any particular part of a given action, and the other component parts of the action are performed unconsciously, the automatism may be called relative.
Sensory Automatism is the term given by students of psychical research to a centrally initiated hallucination. Such hallucina tions are commonly provoked by crystal-gazing (q.v.), but audi tory hallucinations may be caused by the use of a shell (shell hearing), and the other senses are occasionally affected.
Motor Automatism, on the other hand, is a non-reflex move ment of a voluntary muscle, executed in the waking state but not controlled by the ordinary waking consciousness. Phenomena of this kind play a large part in primitive ceremonies of divination (q.v.) and in our own day furnish much of the material of psychical research. At the lowest level we have vague move ments of large groups of muscles as in "bier-divination," where the murderer or his residence is inferred from the actions of the bearers ; of a similar character but combined with more special ized action are many kinds of witch seeking. These more special ized actions are most typically seen in the Divining Rod (q.v.; see also TABLE-TURNING), which indicates the presence of water and is used among the uncivilized to trace criminals. At a higher stage still we have the delicate movements necessary for Auto matic Writing (q.v.) or Drawing. A parallel case to automatic writing is the action of the speech centres, resulting in the pro duction of all kinds of utterances from trance speeches in the ordinary language of the speaker to mere unintelligible babblings. An interesting form of speech automatism is known as Glosso lalia; in the typical case of Helene Smith, Th. Flournoy has shown that these utterances may reach a higher plane and form a real language, which is, however, based on one already known to the speaker. (N. W. T.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.-W. James, Principles of Psychology, vol. i. (189o) ; Bibliography.-W. James, Principles of Psychology, vol. i. (189o) ; F. W. Myers, Proc. S.P.R., ix. (1894); xii. (1897) , xv. (19o1) ; and Human Personality (1903) ; Th. Flournoy, Des Indes a la planete Mars (Iqoo) and Archives de Psychologie, vol. i. (1902) ; G. F. Stout, Analytical Psychology, vol. i. (1902) ; Folklore, xiii. (1902) ; Man (1904) . See articles PSYCHOLOGY, SUGGESTION.