His individuality is just what he makes up his mind, and exercises his utmost imagination, to do. His work is his own, only in so far as he controls his actions in doing it, so that they are better than the external demand. If he is an office boy and told to put stamps on envelopes, he can do it and only it, or he can put them on so quickly or so straight that the quickness or straightness is immediately seen as his particular part of the performance.
He can control the actions of his work and his play; but, except indirectly, he cannot control his digestion, respiration, blood pressure or circulation. He has to eat more digestible food, or to take more exercise, or to cultivate pressure-raising emotions, or those that lower the blood pressure.
He has been taught to believe that his physical constitution and his instincts are tendencies inherited from his ancestors and that he cannot control them. If his instincts or inherited disposition make him lose his temper so that he is not himself, he is supposed not to be responsible for all he does.
But is he freed from responsibility because he is temporarily governed by his instincts, or is he steered by his instincts only when and because he throws away responsibility? Is it impulsive, instinctive action that excuses him, or is it excuses that are wanted by him, which makes him call his action, or the part of it he wants to be excused for, instinctive?
Is not his only reason for calling some actions instinctive or impulsive the fact that he does not want to be held responsible for them? What he cannot control is not his fault. Therefore, what he does not want to be blamed for he says is not under his control. Any thing, person or mysterious power can be made the scapegoat for his misdeed. Much more likely is he to blame other things, persons or powers for what he does contrary to what he thinks people want him to do, than to account for some praiseworthy action by saying it was the result of some power other than himself.
If his marriage has turned out unhappily he consoles himself by saying all marriage is a lottery. If it turns out well he pats himself on the back and says, in actions though not in so many words: “See what a fine match I have made!” But why should he take only praise and put blame on some mysterious power—luck, or providence or what not?
§ 129
His sexual instinct is most likely to be assigned to some mysterious power. But it is no more mysterious than his heartbeat and no more miraculous than the growth of his beard or finger nail. In spite of the fact that he has not given them much thought, his sex instincts are as much a part of him as any tissue of his body.
The same principle applies to the praise or blame attached by others to the acts which his sexual instincts prompt him to do. If he kiss a strange girl in an environment where strange girls are kissed by everyone, his act is not blamed. So it is his own act and not inspired by some unholy power (unless indeed he has to explain to someone how he happened to be in that environment, or he would have to blame that on his instinct).
If his amativeness shows itself in any place where that form of self-expression is frowned upon, he will be mentally preparing excuses, even if he does not have to use them, and he will simply say he was forced by his irresistible impulse to do that very thing.