Sheldon — The Literature of Ethioal Science. 89 



revolution or transformation as any of the other sciences. 

 And the occasion for the change lay chiefly in the doctrine of 

 evolution. It is not as if all this influence came simply from 

 Charles Darwin. The new tendency of thought was arising, 

 as we know, for a time previous to him and his publication. 

 The whole subject was simply clinched at one point by 

 his work. But when his theories were put forward in such a 

 masterly way, all those sciences dealing more especially with 

 subjective experiences were also profoundly concerned. Al- 

 most every student or worker in ethics felt called upon to give 

 his theories a thorough overhauling, and to rewrite some of 

 his statements or propositions. It really amounted to begin- 

 ning over again or taking a new start. 



But before the publication of " The Descent of Man " by 

 Darwin, the change Avas rapidly going on. Herbert Spencer 

 already had in his mind, as I understand, the outlines of his 

 " Theory of Ethics," even before the appearance of " The 

 Origin of Species" in 1859. During the '60's Alexander 

 Bain published his " Mental and Moral Science," and under- 

 took to tear away the traditions surrounding an " intuitional" 

 conscience in order to explain it by an associational psychol- 

 ogy. Lecky had taken up the historic movement and pub- 

 lished his " History of European Morals from the Reign of 

 Augustus to Charlemagne." Every man deeply concerned in 

 these great problems felt in advance just what was coming, 

 before the appearance of "The Descent of Man" in 1871. 

 It was known that Conscience and the Ethical Ideal were to 

 be at stake. The issue was all latent in the first work, " The 

 Origin of Species." One had to expect that a leading chap- 

 ter in the second work by Darwin would be on " The Origin 

 of the Moral Sense," and the expectation was fulfilled. 



In order to give you the merest glimpse of what has been 

 going on, therefore, during this time from the year 1871 

 since the publication of " The Descent of Man," by Charles 

 Darwin, it may be well for me to put before your eyes a list of 

 the treatises dealing specifically with ethical science or ethical 

 philosophy, which I happen to have in my private library. 



