THE LOGIC OF HISTORY 313 



instance, and there are still other points in morality which 

 are claimed as ideals at least by a great majority of moral 

 thinkers. 



But all this is not true " evolution," and indeed, I doubt 

 if such an evolution of mankind could be proved at present 

 in the sense in which Hegel thought it possible. The 

 process of logical and moral deliverance from contradictions 

 might come to an end in one individual ; at least that is a 

 logical possibility, or it might come to an end in, say, six 

 or ten generations. And there is, unfortunately for man- 

 kind, no guarantee that the result will not be lost again 

 and have to be acquired a second time. All this proves 

 that what Hegel regarded as an evolution of the race 

 is only a cumulation. There is nothing evolutionary 

 relating to the generations of mankind as such. At least, 

 nothing is proved about such an evolution. 1 



You may call my view pessimistic, and indeed you may 

 be right so far as the sum total of human beings as such 

 is in question. But, be it pessimistic or not, we are here 

 moving on scientific ground only, and have merely to study 

 the probability or improbability of problematic facts, and 

 with such a view in our mind, we are bound to say that a 

 true logical and moral evolution of mankind is not at all 

 supported by known facts. There is a process of logical 

 and moral perfection, but this process is not one, is not 

 " single " in its actuality ; it is not connected with the one 

 and single line of history, but only with a few generations 

 each time it occurs, or even with one individual, at least 



1 On account of the limited size of the earth a certain final stage of 

 human civilisation might be expected in a future time ; but it would be 

 the size of the earth which determined this end, and not the process of 

 civilisation itself. 



