darwin and modern science-第113章

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Darwin　sought　to　show；　and　succeeded　in　showing；　that　for　the　intellectual　and　moral　life　there　are　instinctive　foundations　which　a　biological　treatment　alone　can　disclose。　　It　is　true　that　he　did　not　in　all　cases　analytically　distinguish　the　foundations　from　the　superstructure。　　Even　to…　day　we　are　scarcely　in　a　position　to　do　so　adequately。　　But　his　treatment　was　of　great　value　in　giving　an　impetus　to　further　research。　　This　value　indeed　can　scarcely　be　overestimated。　　And　when　the　natural　history　of　the　mental　operations　shall　have　been　written；　the　cardinal　fact　will　stand　forth；　that　the　instinctive　and　emotional　foundations　are　the　outcome　of　biological　evolution　and　have　been　ingrained　in　the　race　through　natural　selection。　　We　shall　more　clearly　realise　that　educability　itself　is　a　product　of　natural　selection；　though　the　specific　results　acquired　through　cerebral　modifications　are　not　transmitted　through　heredity。　　It　will；　perhaps；　also　be　realised　that　the　instinctive　foundations　of　social　behaviour　are；　for　us；　somewhat　out　of　date　and　have　undergone　but　little　change　throughout　the　progress　of　civilisation；　because　natural　selection　has　long　since　ceased　to　be　the　dominant　factor　in　human　progress。　　The　history　of　human　progress　has　been　mainly　the　history　of　man's　higher　educability；　the　products　of　which　he　has　projected　on　to　his　environment。　　This　educability　remains　on　the　average　what　it　was　a　dozen　generations　ago；　but　the　thought…woven　tapestry　of　his　surroundings　is　refashioned　and　improved　by　each　succeeding　generation。　　Few　men　have　in　greater　measure　enriched　the　thought…environment　with　which　it　is　the　aim　of　education　to　bring　educable　human　beings　into　vital　contact；　than　has　Charles　Darwin。　　His　special　field　of　work　was　the　wide　province　of　biology；　but　he　did　much　to　help　us　realise　that　mental　factors　have　contributed　to　organic　evolution　and　that　in　man；　the　highest　product　of　Evolution；　they　have　reached　a　position　of　unquestioned　supremacy。


XXII。　　THE　INFLUENCE　OF　THE　CONCEPTION　OF　EVOLUTION　ON　MODERN　PHILOSOPHY。

By　H。　HOFFDING。　Professor　of　Philosophy　in　the　University　of　Copenhagen。

I。

It　is　difficult　to　draw　a　sharp　line　between　philosophy　and　natural　science。　　The　naturalist　who　introduces　a　new　principle；　or　demonstrates　a　fact　which　throws　a　new　light　on　existence；　not　only　renders　an　important　service　to　philosophy　but　is　himself　a　philosopher　in　the　broader　sense　of　the　word。　　The　aim　of　philosophy　in　the　stricter　sense　is　to　attain　points　of　view　from　which　the　fundamental　phenomena　and　the　principles　of　the　special　sciences　can　be　seen　in　their　relative　importance　and　connection。　　But　philosophy　in　this　stricter　sense　has　always　been　influenced　by　philosophy　in　the　broader　sense。　　Greek　philosophy　came　under　the　influence　of　logic　and　mathematics；　modern　philosophy　under　the　influence　of　natural　science。　　The　name　of　Charles　Darwin　stands　with　those　of　Galileo；　Newton；　and　Robert　Mayernames　which　denote　new　problems　and　great　alterations　in　our　conception　of　the　universe。

First　of　all　we　must　lay　stress　on　Darwin's　own　personality。　　His　deep　love　of　truth；　his　indefatigable　inquiry；　his　wide　horizon；　and　his　steady　self…　criticism　make　him　a　scientific　model；　even　if　his　results　and　theories　should　eventually　come　to　possess　mainly　an　historical　interest。　　In　the　intellectual　domain　the　primary　object　is　to　reach　high　summits　from　which　wide　surveys　are　possible；　to　reach　them　toiling　honestly　upwards　by　way　of　experience；　and　then　not　to　turn　dizzy　when　a　summit　is　gained。　　Darwinians　have　sometimes　turned　dizzy；　but　Darwin　never。　　He　saw　from　the　first　the　great　importance　of　his　hypothesis；　not　only　because　of　its　solution　of　the　old　problem　as　to　the　value　of　the　concept　of　species；　not　only　because　of　the　grand　picture　of　natural　evolution　which　it　unrolls；　but　also　because　of　the　life　and　inspiration　its　method　would　impart　to　the　study　of　comparative　anatomy；　of　instinct　and　of　heredity；　and　finally　because　of　the　influence　it　would　exert　on　the　whole　conception　of　existence。　　He　wrote　in　his　note…book　in　the　year　1837：　　〃My　theory　would　give　zest　to　recent　and　fossil　comparative　anatomy；　it　would　lead　to　the　study　of　instinct；　heredity；　and　mind…heredity；　whole　（of）　metaphysics。〃　　（〃Life　and　Letters　of　Charles　Darwin〃；　Vol。　I。　page　8。）

We　can　distinguish　four　main　points　in　which　Darwin's　investigations　possess　philosophical　importance。

The　evolution　hypothesis　is　much　older　than　Darwin；　it　is；　indeed；　one　of　the　oldest　guessings　of　human　thought。　　In　the　eighteenth　century　it　was　put　forward　by　Diderot　and　Lamettrie　and　suggested　by　Kant　（1786）。　　As　we　shall　see　later；　it　was　held　also　by　several　philosophers　in　the　first　half　of　the　nineteenth　century。　　In　his　preface　to　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃；　Darwin　mentions　the　naturalists　who　were　his　forerunners。　　But　he　has　set　forth　the　hypothesis　of　evolution　in　so　energetic　and　thorough　a　manner　that　it　perforce　attracts　the　attention　of　all　thoughtful　men　in　a　much　higher　degree　than　it　did　before　the　publication　of　the　〃Origin〃。

And　further；　the　importance　of　his　teaching　rests　on　the　fact　that　he；　much　more　than　his　predecessors；　even　than　Lamarck；　sought　a　foundation　for　his　hypothesis　in　definite　facts。　　Modern　science　began　by　demandingwith　Kepler　and　Newtonevidence　of　verae　causae；　this　demand　Darwin　industriously　set　himself　to　satisfyhence　the　wealth　of　material　which　he　collected　by　his　observations　and　his　experiments。　　He　not　only　revived　an　old　hypothesis；　but　he　saw　the　necessity　of　verifying　it　by　facts。　　Whether　the　special　cause　on　which　he　founded　the　explanation　of　the　origin　of　speciesNatural　Selectionis　sufficient；　is　now　a　subject　of　discussion。　　He　himself　had　some　doubt　in　regard　to　this　question；　and　the　criticisms　which　are　directed　against　his　hypothesis　hit　Darwinism　rather　than　Darwin。　　In　his　indefatigable　search　for　empirical　evidence　he　is　a　model　even　for　his　antagonists：　　he　has　compelled　them　to　approach　the　problems　of　life　along　other　lines　than　those　which　were　formerly　followed。

Whether　the　special　cause　to　which　Darwin　appealed　is　sufficient　or　not；　at　least　to　it　is　probably　due　the　greater　part　of　the　influence　which　he　has　exerted　on　the　general　trend　of　thought。　　〃Struggle　for　existence〃　and　〃natural　selection〃　are　principles　which　have　been　applied；　more　or　less；　in　every　department　of　thought。　　Recent　research；　it　is　true；　has　discovered　greater　empirical　discontinuityleaps；　〃mutations〃whereas　Darwin　believed　in　the　importance　of　small　variations　slowly　accumulated。　　It　has　also　been　shown　by　the　experimental　method；　which　in　recent　biological　work　has　succeeded　Darwin's　more　historical　method；　that　types　once　constituted　possess　great　permanence；　the　fluctuations　being　restricted　within　clearly　defined　boundaries。　　The　problem　has　become　more　precise；　both　as　to　variation　and　as　to　heredity。　　The　inner　conditions　of　life　have　in　both　respects　shown　a　greater　independence　than　Darwin　had　supposed　in　his　theory；　though　he　always　admitted　that　the　cause　of　variation　was　to　him　a　great　enigma；　〃a　most　perplexing　problem；〃　and　that　the　struggle　for　life　could　only　occur　where　variation　existed。　　But；　at　any　rate；　it　was　of　the　greatest　importance　that　Darwin　gave　a　living　impression　of　the　struggle　for　life　which　is　everywhere　going　on；　and　to　which　even　the　highest　forms　of　existence　must　be　amenable。　　The　philosophical　importance　of　these　ideas　does　not　stand　or　fall　with　the　answer　to　the　question；　whether　natural　selection　is　a　sufficient　explanation　of　the　origin　of　species　or　not：　　it　has　an　independent；　positive　value　for　everyone　who　will　observe　life　and　reality　with　an　unbiassed　mind。

In　accentuating　the　struggle　for　life　Darwin　stands　as　a　characteristically　English　thinker：　　he　continues　a　train　of　ideas　which　Hobbes　and　Malthus　had　already　begun。　　Moreover　in　his　critical　views　as　to　the　conception　of　species　he　had　English　forerunners；　in　the　middle　ages　Occam　and　Duns　Scotus；　in　the　eighteenth　century　Berkeley　and　Hume。　　In　his　moral　philosophy；　as　we　shall　see　later；　he　is　an　adherent　of　the　school　which　is　represented　by　Hutcheson；　Hume　and　Adam　Smith。　　Because　he　is　no　philosopher　in　the　stricter　sense　of　the　term；　it　is　of　great　interest　to　see　that　his　attitude　of　mind　is　that　of　the　great　thinkers　of　his　nation。

In　considering　Darwin's　influence　on　philosophy　we　will　begin　with　an　examination　of　the　attitude　of　philosophy　to　the　conception　of　evolution　at　the　time　when　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　appeared。　　We　will　then　examine　the　effects　which　the　theory　of　evolution；　and　especially　the　idea　of　the　struggle　for　life；　has　had；　and　naturally　must　have；　on　the　discussion　of　philosophical　problems。

II。

When　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　appeared　fifty　years　ago　Romantic　speculation；　Schelling's　and　Hegel's　philosophy；　still　reigned　on　the　continent；　while　in　England　Positivism；　the　philosophy　of　Comte　and　Stuart　Mill；　represented　the　most　important　trend　of　thought。　　German　speculation　had　much　to　say　on　evolution；　it　even　pretended　to　be　a　philosophy　of　evolution。　　But　then　the　word　〃evolution〃　was　to　be　taken　in　an　ideal；　not　in　a　real；　sense。　　To　speculative　thought　the　forms　and　types　of　nature　formed　a　system　of　ideas；　within　which　any　form　could　lead　us　by　continuous　transitions　to　any　other。　It　was　a　classificatory　system　which　was　regarded　as　a　divine　world　of　thought　or　images；　within　which　metamorphoses　could　go　ona　condition　comparable　with　that　in　the　mind　of　the　poet　when　one　image　follows　another　with　imperceptible　changes。　　Goethe's　ideas　of　evolution；　as　expressed　in　his　〃Metamorphosen　der　Pflanzen　und　der　Thiere〃；　belong　to　this　category；　it　is；　therefore；　incorrect　to　call　him　a　forerunner　of　Darwin。　　Schelling　and　Hegel　held　the　same　idea；　Hegel　expressly　rejected　the　conception　of　a　real　evolution　in　time　as　coarse　and　materialistic。　　〃Nature；〃　he　says；　〃is　to　be　considered　as　a　SYSTEM　OF　STAGES；　the　one　necessarily　arising　from　the　other；　and　being　the　nearest　truth　of　that　from　which　it　proceeds；　but　not　in　such　a　way　that　the　one　is　NATURALLY　generated　by　the　other；　on　the　contrary　（their　connection　lies）　in　the　inner　idea　which　is　the　ground　of　nature。　　The　METAMORPHOSIS　can　be　ascribed　only　to　the　notion　as　such；　because　it　alone　is　evolution。。。It　has　been　a　clumsy　idea　in　the　older　as　well　as　in　the　newer　philosophy　of　nature；　to　regard　the　transformation　and　the　transition　from　one　natural　form　and　sphere　to　a　higher　as　an　outward　and　actual　production。〃　　（〃Encyclopaedie　der　philosophischen　Wissenschaften〃　（4th　edition）；　Berlin；　1845；　paragraph　249。）

The　only　one　of　the　philosophers　of　Romanticism　who　believed　in　a　real；　historical　evolution；　a　real　production　of　new　species；　was　Oken。　　（〃Lehrbuch　der　Naturphilosophie〃；　Jena；　1809。）　　Danish　philosophers；　such　as　Treschow　（1812）　and　Sibbern　（1846）；　have　also　broached　the　idea　of　an　historical　evolution　of　all　living　beings　from　the　lowest　to　the　highest。　　Schopenhauer's　philosophy　has　a　more　realistic　character　than　that　of　Schelling's　and　Hegel's；　his　diametrical　opposites；　though　he　also　belongs　to　the　romantic　school　of　thought。　　His　philosophical　and　psychological　views　were