Introduction 



V 



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During the past century man's knowledge and un- 

 derstanding of the world about him has grown more 

 rapidly than during any comparable period of his his- 

 tory. This increasing knowledge has permitted man- 

 kind to exercise a degree of control over environment 

 never attainable prior to this time. Many of the lim- 

 itations imposed by nature that were formerly believed 

 insuperable, have been successfully overcome. 



Man also has learned much about himself. His unity 

 with other forms of life and his gradual ascent from 

 simpler creatures has been established by evolutionary 

 theory. Genetics has done much to explain the 

 mechanism by means of which man and all other liv- 

 ing things have evolved. The relatively new and grop- 

 ing science of Psychology has begun to account for the 

 behavior of individuals. Sociology is attempting to 

 gain understanding of the way in which larger groups 

 behave. Anthropology, studying the habits of different 

 cultures, especially the primitive ones, has provided 

 new insight into the development of man that has oc- 



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