darwin and modern science-第117章

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　their　ends　could　be　reached。〃　　（〃English　literature　and　society　in　the　eighteenth　century〃；　London；　1904；　page　187。）　　And　Kant　supposed　that　every　man　would　find　the　〃categorical　imperative〃　in　his　consciousness；　when　he　came　to　sober　reflexion；　and　that　all　would　have　the　same　qualifications　to　follow　it。　　But　if　continual　variations；　great　or　small；　are　going　on　in　human　nature；　it　is　the　duty　of　ethics　to　make　allowance　for　them；　both　in　making　claims；　and　in　valuing　what　is　done。　　A　new　set　of　ethical　problems　have　their　origin　here。　　（Cf。　my　paper；　〃The　law　of　relativity　in　Ethics；〃　〃International　Journal　of　Ethics〃；　Vol。　I。　1891；　pages　37…62。）　　It　is　an　interesting　fact　that　Stuart　Mill's　book　〃On　Liberty〃　appeared　in　the　same　year　as　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃。　　Though　Mill　agreed　with　Bentham　about　the　original　equality　of　all　men's　endowments；　he　regarded　individual　differences　as　a　necessary　result　of　physical　and　social　influences；　and　he　claimed　that　free　play　shall　be　allowed　to　differences　of　character　so　far　as　is　possible　without　injury　to　other　men。　　It　is　a　condition　of　individual　and　social　progress　that　a　man's　mode　of　action　should　be　determined　by　his　own　character　and　not　by　tradition　and　custom；　nor　by　abstract　rules。　　This　view　was　to　be　corroborated　by　the　theory　of　Darwin。

But　here　we　have　reached　a　point　of　view　from　which　the　criticism；　which　in　recent　years　has　often　been　directed　against　Darwinthat　small　variations　are　of　no　importance　in　the　struggle　for　lifeis　of　no　weight。　　From　an　ethical　standpoint；　and　particularly　from　the　ethical　standpoint　of　Darwin　himself；　it　is　a　duty　to　foster　individual　differences　that　can　be　valuable；　even　though　they　can　neither　be　of　service　for　physical　preservation　nor　be　physically　inherited。　　The　distinction　between　variation　and　mutation　is　here　without　importance。　　It　is　quite　natural　that　biologists　should　be　particularly　interested　in　such　variations　as　can　be　inherited　and　produce　new　species。　　But　in　the　human　world　there　is　not　only　a　physical；　but　also　a　mental　and　social　heredity。　　When　an　ideal　human　character　has　taken　form；　then　there　is　shaped　a　type；　which　through　imitation　and　influence　can　become　an　important　factor　in　subsequent　development；　even　if　it　cannot　form　a　species　in　the　biological　sense　of　the　word。　　Spiritually　strong　men　often　succumb　in　the　physical　struggle　for　life；　but　they　can　nevertheless　be　victorious　through　the　typical　influence　they　exert；　perhaps　on　very　distant　generations；　if　the　remembrance　of　them　is　kept　alive；　be　it　in　legendary　or　in　historical　form。　　Their　very　failure　can　show　that　a　type　has　taken　form　which　is　maintained　at　all　risks；　a　standard　of　life　which　is　adhered　to　in　spite　of　the　strongest　opposition。　　The　question　〃to　be　or　not　to　be〃　can　be　put　from　very　different　levels　of　being：　　it　has　too　often　been　considered　a　consequence　of　Darwinism　that　this　question　is　only　to　be　put　from　the　lowest　level。　　When　a　stage　is　reached；　where　ideal　（ethical；　intellectual；　aesthetic）　interests　are　concerned；　the　struggle　for　life　is　a　struggle　for　the　preservation　of　this　stage。　　The　giving　up　of　a　higher　standard　of　life　is　a　sort　of　death；　for　there　is　not　only　a　physical；　there　is　also　a　spiritual；　death。

VI。

The　Socratic　character　of　Darwin's　mind　appears　in　his　wariness　in　drawing　the　last　consequences　of　his　doctrine；　in　contrast　both　with　the　audacious　theories　of　so　many　of　his　followers　and　with　the　consequences　which　his　antagonists　were　busy　in　drawing。　　Though　he；　as　we　have　seen；　saw　from　the　beginning　that　his　hypothesis　would　occasion　〃a　whole　of　metaphysics；〃　he　was　himself　very　reserved　as　to　the　ultimate　questions；　and　his　answers　to　such　questions　were　extorted　from　him。

As　to　the　question　of　optimism　and　pessimism；　Darwin　held　that　though　pain　and　suffering　were　very　often　the　ways　by　which　animals　were　led　to　pursue　that　course　of　action　which　is　most　beneficial　to　the　species；　yet　pleasurable　feelings　were　the　most　habitual　guides。　　〃We　see　this　in　the　pleasure　from　exertion；　even　occasionally　from　great　exertion　of　the　body　or　mind；　in　the　pleasure　of　our　daily　meals；　and　especially　in　the　pleasure　derived　from　sociability；　and　from　loving　our　families。〃　　But　there　was　to　him　so　much　suffering　in　the　world　that　it　was　a　strong　argument　against　the　existence　of　an　intelligent　First　Cause。　　（〃Life　and　Letters〃　Vol。　I。　page　310。）

It　seems　to　me　that　Darwin　was　not　so　clear　on　another　question；　that　of　the　relation　between　improvement　and　adaptation。　　He　wrote　to　Lyell：　　〃When　you　contrast　natural　selection　and　'improvement；'　you　seem　always　to　overlook。。。that　every　step　in　the　natural　selection　of　each　species　implies　improvement　in　that　species　IN　RELATION　TO　ITS　CONDITION　OF　LIFE。。。Improvement　implies；　I　suppose；　EACH　FORM　OBTAINING　MANY　PARTS　OR　ORGANS；　all　excellently　adapted　for　their　functions。〃　　〃All　this；〃　he　adds；　〃seems　to　me　quite　compatible　with　certain　forms　fitted　for　simple　conditions；　remaining　unaltered；　or　being　degraded。〃　　（Ibid。　Vol。　II。　page　177。）　　But　the　great　question　is；　if　the　conditions　of　life　will　in　the　long　run　favour　〃improvement〃　in　the　sense　of　differentiation　（or　harmony　of　differentiation　and　integration）。　　Many　beings　are　best　adapted　to　their　conditions　of　life　if　they　have　few　organs　and　few　necessities。　　Pessimism　would　not　only　be　the　consequence；　if　suffering　outweighed　happiness；　but　also　if　the　most　elementary　forms　of　happiness　were　predominant；　or　if　there　were　a　tendency　to　reduce　the　standard　of　life　to　the　simplest　possible；　the　contentment　of　inertia　or　stable　equilibrium。　　There　are　animals　which　are　very　highly　differentiated　and　active　in　their　young　state；　but　later　lose　their　complex　organisation　and　concentrate　themselves　on　the　one　function　of　nutrition。　　In　the　human　world　analogies　to　this　sort　of　adaptation　are　not　wanting。　　Young　〃idealists〃　very　often　end　as　old　〃Philistines。〃　　Adaptation　and　progress　are　not　the　same。

Another　question　of　great　importance　in　respect　to　human　evolution　is；　whether　there　will　be　always　a　possibility　for　the　existence　of　an　impulse　to　progress；　an　impulse　to　make　great　claims　on　life；　to　be　active　and　to　alter　the　conditions　of　life　instead　of　adapting　to　them　in　a　passive　manner。　　Many　people　do　not　develop　because　they　have　too　few　necessities；　and　because　they　have　no　power　to　imagine　other　conditions　of　life　than　those　under　which　they　live。　　In　his　remarks　on　〃the　pleasure　from　exertion〃　Darwin　has　a　point　of　contact　with　the　practical　idealism　of　former　timeswith　the　ideas　of　Lessing　and　Goethe；　of　Condorcet　and　Fichte。　　The　continual　striving　which　was　the　condition　of　salvation　to　Faust's　soul；　is　also　the　condition　of　salvation　to　mankind。　　There　is　a　holy　fire　which　we　ought　to　keep　burning；　if　adaptation　is　really　to　be　improvement。　　If；　as　I　have　tried　to　show　in　my　〃Philosophy　of　Religion〃；　the　innermost　core　of　all　religion　is　faith　in　the　persistence　of　value　in　the　world；　and　if　the　highest　values　express　themselves　in　the　cry　〃Excelsior！〃　then　the　capital　point　is；　that　this　cry　should　always　be　heard　and　followed。　　We　have　here　a　corollary　of　the　theory　of　evolution　in　its　application　to　human　life。

Darwin　declared　himself　an　agnostic；　not　only　because　he　could　not　harmonise　the　large　amount　of　suffering　in　the　world　with　the　idea　of　a　God　as　its　first　cause；　but　also　because　he　〃was　aware　that　if　we　admit　a　first　cause；　the　mind　still　craves　to　know　whence　it　came　and　how　it　arose。〃　　（〃Life　and　Letters〃；　Vol。　I。　page　306。）　　He　saw；　as　Kant　had　seen　before　him　and　expressed　in　his　〃Kritik　der　Urtheilskraft〃；　that　we　cannot　accept　either　of　the　only　two　possibilities　which　we　are　able　to　conceive：　　chance　（or　brute　force）　and　design。　　Neither　mechanism　nor　teleology　can　give　an　absolute　answer　to　ultimate　questions。　　The　universe；　and　especially　the　organic　life　in　it；　can　neither　be　explained　as　a　mere　combination　of　absolute　elements　nor　as　the　effect　of　a　constructing　thought。　　Darwin　concluded；　as　Kant；　and　before　him　Spinoza；　that　the　oppositions　and　distinctions　which　our　experience　presents；　cannot　safely　be　regarded　as　valid　for　existence　in　itself。　　And；　with　Kant　and　Fichte；　he　found　his　stronghold　in　the　conviction　that　man　has　something　to　do；　even　if　he　cannot　solve　all　enigmas。　　〃The　safest　conclusion　seems　to　me　that　the　whole　subject　is　beyond　the　scope　of　man's　intellect；　but　man　can　do　his　duty。〃　　（Ibid。　page　307。）

Is　this　the　last　word　of　human　thought？　　Does　not　the　possibility；　that　man　can　do　his　duty；　suppose　that　the　conditions　of　life　allow　of　continuous　ethical　striving；　so　that　there　is　a　certain　harmony　between　cosmic　order　and　human　ideals？　　Darwin　himself　has　shown　how　the　consciousness　of　duty　can　arise　as　a　natural　result　of　evolution。　　Moreover　there　are　lines　of　evolution　which　have　their　end　in　ethical　idealism；　in　a　kingdom　of　values；　which　must　struggle　for　life　as　all　things　in　the　world　must　do；　but　a　kingdom　which　has　its　firm　foundation　in　reality。


XXIII。　　DARWINISM　AND　SOCIOLOGY。

By　C。　BOUGLE。　Professor　of　Social　Philosophy　in　the　University　of　Toulouse　and　Deputy…　Professor　at　the　Sorbonne；　Paris。

How　has　our　conception　of　social　phenomena；　and　of　their　history；　been　affected　by　Darwin's　conception　of　Nature　and　the　laws　of　its　transformations？　　To　what　extent　and　in　what　particular　respects　have　the　discoveries　and　hypotheses　of　the　author　of　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　aided　the　efforts　of　those　who　have　sought　to　construct　a　science　of　society？

To　such　a　question　it　is　certainly　not　easy　to　give　any　brief　or　precise　answer。　　We　find　traces　of　Darwinism　almost　everywhere。　　Sociological　systems　differing　widely　from　each　other　have　laid　claim　to　its　authority；　while；　on　the　other　hand；　its　influence　has　often　made　itself　felt　only　in　combination　with　other　influences。　　The　Darwinian　thread　is　worked　into　a　hundred　patterns　along　with　other　threads。

To　deal　with　the　problem；　we　must；　it　seems；　first　of　all　distinguish　the　more　general　conclusions　in　regard　to　the　evolution　of　living　beings；　which　are　the　outcome　of　Darwinism；　from　the　particular　explanations　it　offers　of　the　ways　and　means　by　which　that　evolution　is　effected。　　That　is　to　say；　we　must；　as　far　as　possible；　estimate　separately　the　influence　of　Darwin　as　an　evolutionist　and　Darwin　as　a　selectionist。

The　nineteenth　century；　said　Cournot；　has　witnessed　a　mighty　effort　to　〃reintegrer　l'homme　dans　la　nature。〃　　From　divers　quarters　there　has　been　a　methodical　reaction　against　the　persistent　dualism　of　the　Cartesian　tradition；　which　was　itself　the　unconscious　heir　of　the　Christian　tradition。　　Even　the　philosophy　of　the　eighteenth　century；　materialistic　as　were　for　the　most　part　the　tendencies　of　its　leaders；　seemed　to　revere　man　as　a　being　apart；　concerning　whom　laws　might　be　formulated　a　priori。　　To　bring　him　down　from　his　pedestal　there　was　needed　the　marked　predominance　of　positive　researches　wherein　no　account　was　taken　of　the　〃pride　of　man。〃　　There　can　be　no　doubt　that　Darwin　has　done　much　to　familiarise　us　with　this　attitude。　　Take　for　instance　the　first　part　of　〃The　Descent　of　Man〃：　　it　is　an　accumulation　of　typical　facts；　all　tending　to　diminish　the　distanc