SCIENCE AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS 283 



both so strongly defended upon the ground that each pro- 

 duces the greatest good, one wonders whether the problem 

 is not so complicated that the bearing of science upon the 

 form of government cannot be ascertained. Nevertheless, 

 certain clues are apparent. The fact that the western ideal 

 of democracy has developed side by side with the scientific 

 frame of mind, and that aristocracy is commonly associated 

 with the older forms of thought is not without meaning. 



Science, with its emphasis upon matter-of-fact judgments 

 and its disregard for precedent, has been a factor at every 

 step in the advance from the despotic aristocracies of the 

 ancient world to the modern democratic states. In ancient 

 times, government was intimately associated with religious 

 leadership, the ruler being either a priest or an individual 

 regarded as consecrated by divine authority. Belief in the 

 divine right of kings was the last disturbing survival of this 

 ancient union of Church and State. Secularization of gov- 

 ernment has gradually broken down the connection between 

 ruler and priest. Rationality has applied itself in political 

 life; and since political life accomplishes for the many what 

 philosophy does for the few, the spread of the rationalistic 

 attitude has been encouraged by the political activities of 

 larger numbers of men. The judicial spirit, which is an out- 

 come of the secularization of government, is the rational, 

 scientific spirit appearing within the political field. The 

 give-and-take of political activity fosters a spirit of inde- 

 pendence and the spirit of independence leads to new forms 

 of thought along other lines. 



We regard democracy as a sound concept of government, 

 because of its effects upon the individual. One must believe 

 that the influence of a dominant and privileged group, par- 

 ticularly one that rules by hereditary right, is not conducive 

 to the extension and elevation of the individual mind for 

 which mankind seems to be striving. The fact that the 

 forms of democratic government, through which the eleva- 

 tion of the individual has been attempted, have often proved 



