Note 18 — IV Dynamics as Opposed to Machine Theory

If I say that “attitude” will sometimes have an influence upon sensory experience, this statement does not mean, that “mental power” can change the sensory field arbitrarily. First of all, strictly speaking, it is not the attitude, as an experience, which changes the sensory facts; the physiological process underlying it changes the sensory process. Also, such a change is not produced arbitrarily; it necessarily follows definite antecedents. Furthermore, natural objective experience does not yield to all slight changes of attitude. Apart from introspection our attitude will not tend radically to alter sensory experience. Some very important exceptions will be considered later on.