MANKIND AND THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 315 



equal those already made. The easier work has all been 

 accomplished, and hence substantial progress will shortly 

 come to an end. Never again can there be such a period as 

 the recent centuries. Without venturing a prophecy, these 

 statements may be challenged, in so far as they express con- 

 viction that the greatest triumphs of science lie behind us. 

 Such pessimism is foreign to biological science and we doubt 

 its existence in other lines of scientific effort. 



The ultimate goal of scientific endeavor is conquest of 

 the universe, in so far as this is demanded by human wel- 

 fare and aspiration. Despite seeming pretension, science is 

 not vainglorious. New and more difficult problems arise 

 from each problem solved. There seems no immediate near- 

 ing of the goal. The Cosmos we know to-day is unbeliev- 

 ably complex and more is being disclosed. Things un- 

 dreamed of in our philosophy continually appear. Consider, 

 for example, the concept of a super-universe, which has 

 arisen as an outcome of recent astronomical investigations; 

 and the Theory of Relativity. 



Nature still presents unlimited problems, and the desire 

 for intellectual dominion is a guarantee for the continuation 

 of scientific effort in the future. The biological discovery of 

 man's place in nature did more than change traditional 

 beliefs ; it gave a point of departure into a future, unknown 

 but fraught with possibilities. Mankind has grasped the 

 idea of controlling nature through understanding of natural 

 law. And once this lays firmer hold upon imagination, there 

 will be no satisfying of desire save by the advancement of 

 scientific knowledge. The permanent future of science 

 seems assured, in so far as human inclination is concerned. 

 Neither lack of incentive nor exhaustibility of unexplained 

 phenomena will check its progress, but rather the limitations 

 of human understanding. 



There is no positive evidence for a progressive evolution 

 of human intelligence during the recent centuries. The race 

 is apparently at a standstill in this particular, unless, indeed, 



