Automatism

AUTOMATISM. - Those actions of the psyche or of the body are called automatic (from the Greek αὐτοματίζω [αὐτόματος], "to move, to act of oneself, by one's own impulse") which, not subject or scarcely subject to the vigilance of consciousness, take place independently of special volitional impulses.

I. AUTOMATISM AND SCIENCE

The performance of functions without the intervention of consciousness, such as the cardiac, the respiratory, etc., falls within physiological automatism; whereas the performance of even complex and coordinated actions, such as walking, writing, reading, riding a bicycle, which take place without conscious control, falls within psychological automatism in the broad sense of the word. Numerous psychological automatisms, understood in the strict sense of the term, can be observed in our intellectual activity (habits of thought, stereotypies of language, processes of association, of memory, of imagination, whereby one may speak of an "automatic thought") and in our moral activity. From the latter, in particular, advantage is to be drawn in moral education, especially in order to combat tendencies and passions by means of acts which, if they require great effort the first time, end up, through exercise and repetition leading to habit, by becoming easy. Automatism can be considered, in many cases, as the final stage, the final product of habit (v. ABITO, ABITUDINE).

The unfolding of our whole life is greatly facilitated by automatism, whose sphere of action in man is very extensive and thanks to which innumerable acts are performed with a minimal expenditure of energy, which would instead be enormous if they had to be performed by intervening actively with attention (v.).

The range of human automatisms is very vast, extending from normal ones to abnormal and pathological ones. A high degree of external suggestibility (heterosuggestibility) indicates the so-called automatism at command, that is, the possibility, in certain subjects, that the most diverse acts be performed on command, as though the individual were an obedient automaton: a frequent case in dements praecox, in hysterics, and very frequent in hypnotized persons. The subject is likewise subjugated by external influences when he reproduces by imitation movements that he sees performed (imitative automatism or ecopraxia or scosineia), or when he repeats words that he hears pronounced (echolalia). Mention should also be made of the cases of ambulatory automatism (dromo-or porio-mania), that is, those particular forms of epileptic attack whereby the patient, driven by an irresistible force, suddenly begins to walk or run without being conscious of it; within the picture of this accessual form representing an epileptic equivalent, the so-called fugues also fall, which can be prolonged for hours and days.

It is worth noting that, with the exception of pathological cases, the automatic activity of psychic life is always prompted by an initial act of consciousness and will, and, moreover, that automatic activity is such only insofar as consciousness permits it, that is, only with the tacit consent of our will; whereby many automatisms of daily life are to be considered, fundamentally, in their deep genesis, as actions determined by an act of consciousness. In proof of this, it suffices to recall those various incorrect acts that we perform mechanically when we are or believe ourselves to be alone, and which instead we avoid in the presence of others. Intellectual, moral and physical demands often awaken consciousness and interrupt or annul an automatism. And precisely the first function of the vigilant will will be that of annulling the coefficients of impulsivity tied to base tendencies, thus cutting short the psychological automatism of the actions to be avoided.

Gislero Flesch

II. THE HUMAN AUTOMATISM AND THE MORAL LIFE

On the data of scientific psychology concerning the various natural automatisms of man, moral theology, applying the general norms of responsibility for our acts, formulates a threefold judgment: 1) Considered directly in themselves, automatic acts either have no moral value, good or bad, or have it in a very weak degree, because they are either entirely unconscious, or take us by surprise without our paying attention to them or willing them. We are therefore either not at all or very little responsible for them. 2) We can, however, become responsible as regards the consequences, if, becoming aware of the execution of the act, we approve it and willingly accept the effects that follow from it, of pleasure or of utility. 3) Considered in their connection with the higher psychic activities (intelligence and will), automatic acts can become imputable to us, insofar as the will can always, except in pathological cases, have cooperated or cooperate in their formation or suppression through indulgent fostering or vigilant and constant reaction in favor of and within natural tendencies, and through the formation of idea-forces, which in practice facilitate or suppress the coefficients of impulsivity. Hence the formative or deformative pedagogical value of habits (v.).

III. HUMAN AUTOMATISM AND FORMALISM

Besides the natural life, the baptized Christian possesses the supernatural life constituted by sanctifying Grace, by the theological and infused virtues, and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Since this new life comes neither to suppress nature nor to take its place, but to elevate and perfect it, its activities, while remaining above all in the hands of God, also require our cooperation and make use, in order to unfold and progress, of our human nature; therefore they cannot escape the general conditions of our psychological life, necessary for praying, uniting ourselves to God, and devoting ourselves to good works, nor can they escape our natural automatisms. Hence the danger, at times serious, of falling into formalism, so often reproached to Catholics by their adversaries; that is, of performing the acts of the spiritual life (prayers, assistance at Mass, Confession, Communion, etc.) out of pure habit or tradition or conformism, with little or no fruit and merit; but with much harm, because a general state of tepidity sets in. On the other hand, one cannot renounce every automatism in an absolute manner, because it is not possible to perform an act of the will at every action we carry out (it suffices to recall the effort required to walk, in moments of depression, "by sheer force of will").

And so one must make use of all those means that sound and true ascetics suggests: regularity, general and particular examinations of conscience, the various ways of praying concerning the different prayers in order better to penetrate their meaning, to relish and savor them; reflection for a few moments before the more important actions, the renewal of the intentions with which one wishes to act, the exercise of vigilance over oneself and of mastery over one's own actions. Automatism, then, far from constituting a danger, will give to interior formation and to Catholic spirituality a solidly effective force and impetus.

Celestino Testore