﻿THE 
  ISSUES 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  315 
  

  

  obstacles, 
  and 
  the 
  inmost 
  secret 
  of 
  life, 
  from 
  first 
  to 
  last, 
  is 
  en- 
  

   deavour. 
  The 
  perennial 
  problem 
  is 
  to 
  adjust 
  relations 
  between 
  the 
  

   self-expression 
  of 
  the 
  organism 
  and 
  the 
  indifference, 
  or 
  hostility, 
  

   or 
  conflicting 
  interests 
  in 
  its 
  environment. 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  fresh 
  reactions 
  and 
  responses 
  which 
  living 
  creatures 
  make 
  

   to 
  environing 
  difficulties 
  and 
  limitations 
  are 
  summed 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  

   Darwinian 
  concept 
  of 
  the 
  Struggle 
  for 
  Existence 
  which 
  has 
  suffered 
  

   from 
  widespread 
  misunderstanding. 
  As 
  is 
  well 
  known, 
  the 
  three 
  

   main 
  difficulties 
  are 
  those 
  involved 
  in 
  the 
  tendency 
  to 
  over-popula- 
  

   tion, 
  in 
  the 
  nutritive 
  dependence 
  of 
  one 
  creature 
  upon 
  another, 
  and 
  

   in 
  the 
  changefulness 
  of 
  the 
  environment. 
  As 
  is 
  also 
  well 
  known, 
  the 
  

   struggle 
  takes 
  three 
  main 
  forms, 
  between 
  fellows 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  kith 
  

   and 
  kin, 
  between 
  foes 
  of 
  entirely 
  different 
  kinds, 
  and 
  between 
  

   organisms 
  and 
  their 
  inorganic 
  surroundings. 
  But 
  what 
  is 
  less 
  

   clearly 
  recognised 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  struggle 
  need 
  not 
  be 
  directly 
  competi- 
  

   tive, 
  need 
  not 
  be 
  sanguinary, 
  need 
  not 
  lead 
  to 
  elimination 
  there 
  and 
  

   then, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  often 
  more 
  accurately 
  described 
  as 
  an 
  endeavour 
  

   after 
  well-being. 
  The 
  race 
  is 
  not 
  always 
  to 
  the 
  swift, 
  nor 
  the 
  battle 
  

   to 
  the 
  strong, 
  for, 
  as 
  Darwin 
  clearly 
  recognised, 
  survival 
  may 
  be 
  the 
  

   reward 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  give 
  the 
  best 
  send-off 
  to 
  their 
  offspring, 
  or 
  to 
  

   those 
  who 
  vary 
  most 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  self-subordination. 
  

  

  Corrections 
  of 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  the 
  struggle 
  for 
  existence 
  is 
  neces- 
  

   sarily 
  an 
  internecine 
  competition 
  between 
  kin 
  around 
  the 
  margin 
  of 
  

   subsistence 
  (of 
  which 
  there 
  are 
  remarkably 
  few 
  good 
  illustrations) 
  

   have 
  been 
  offered 
  by 
  Spencer, 
  Kessler, 
  Geddes, 
  Drummond, 
  Kropot- 
  

   kin, 
  and 
  others. 
  And 
  Darwin 
  safeguarded 
  himself 
  carefully. 
  In- 
  

   stead 
  of 
  opposing 
  " 
  Struggle 
  for 
  Self 
  " 
  and 
  " 
  Struggle 
  for 
  Others 
  ", 
  

   or 
  " 
  Mutual 
  Struggle 
  ' 
  ; 
  and 
  " 
  Mutual 
  Aid 
  ", 
  it 
  is 
  scientifically 
  

   clearer 
  to 
  recognise 
  that 
  the 
  concept 
  of 
  Struggle 
  includes 
  all 
  the 
  

   reactions 
  and 
  responses 
  which 
  individual 
  organisms 
  make 
  in 
  face 
  

   of 
  difficulties. 
  Intensifying 
  competition 
  is 
  one 
  mode, 
  an 
  elabora- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  parental 
  care 
  is 
  another, 
  an 
  experiment 
  in 
  parasitism 
  is 
  

   another, 
  a 
  new 
  departure 
  in 
  sociality 
  another, 
  and 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  

   more 
  all 
  of 
  which 
  pay. 
  Thus 
  the 
  nightmare 
  picture 
  of 
  the 
  Strug- 
  

   gle 
  for 
  Existence 
  as 
  " 
  a 
  dismal 
  cockpit 
  " 
  gives 
  place 
  to 
  a 
  more 
  ac- 
  

   curate 
  one, 
  which 
  is 
  more 
  conformable 
  with 
  the 
  assumption 
  that 
  

   Nature 
  is 
  not 
  " 
  all 
  weather 
  r> 
  or 
  " 
  a 
  moral 
  multiverse 
  ". 
  

  

  The 
  competitive 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  struggle 
  for 
  existence 
  is 
  not 
  illus- 
  

   trated 
  when 
  all 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  meet 
  a 
  familiar 
  difficulty 
  

   with 
  equal 
  effectiveness, 
  the 
  capacity 
  for 
  the 
  response 
  being 
  in- 
  

   grained 
  in 
  the 
  constitution. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  interesting 
  to 
  turn 
  to 
  these 
  

  

  