Project Gutenberg 2004-07-01 Public domain in the USA. 414 Butler, Samuel 1835 1902 Cellarius Streatfeild, R. A. (Richard Alexander) 1866 1919 Streatfeild, Richard Alexander Life and Habit Transcribed from the 1910 Jonathan Cape edition by David Price "Life and Habit" by Samuel Butler is a philosophical treatise originally published in the late 19th century. The work delves into the intricacies of habit formation and the nature of conscious and unconscious actions. Butler explores how accumulated experiences shape human behavior, linking it to broader themes of evolution and instinct. At the start of "Life and Habit," the author sets the stage for a deep inquiry into how repetitive actions transform from conscious efforts into almost automatic behaviors. Butler uses examples like playing a musical instrument, writing, and talking to illustrate how conscious knowledge becomes latent as familiarity increases. He also reflects on the implications of this transformation for our understanding of inherited instincts, suggesting that even seemingly instinctual behaviors may be better understood through the lens of acquired habits developed over generations. The opening chapters challenge readers to consider the relationship between consciousness, knowledge, and action, positing that true mastery comes from an unconscious competence born out of extensive practice. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 42.5 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Evolution Life (Biology) Habit PR QH Text Category: Philosophy & Ethics 542149 2025-10-03T06:40:32.167810 text/html 541403 2014-08-02T03:43:19 text/html 321145 2025-10-03T06:40:39.092762 application/epub+zip 326198 2025-10-03T06:40:34.156795 application/epub+zip 261693 2025-10-03T06:40:32.948796 application/epub+zip 514629 2025-10-03T06:40:43.054742 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 481211 2025-10-03T06:40:38.316789 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 387979 2022-09-03T10:34:16.427435 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 520095 2025-10-03T06:40:31.480806 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 519826 2014-08-02T03:43:13 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19293 2025-10-03T06:40:43.187748 application/rdf+xml 11101 2025-10-03T06:40:33.447796 image/jpeg 3017 2025-10-03T06:40:33.195795 image/jpeg 183935 2014-08-02T03:46:43 application/octet-stream application/zip 250711 2014-08-02T03:46:43 application/octet-stream application/zip 312851 2025-10-03T06:40:32.215788 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia