226 Changing Human Nature 



The controversy between the euthenists (who stress the 

 importance of decent Hving conditions) and the eugenists 

 (who stress the importance of being well born) proves that 

 we are not clear as to the factors of the problem. Both are 

 undoubtedly right; and both undoubtedly overlook some- 

 thing of equal importance. As we shall see presently, the 

 issue between nurture and nature is a false one because it 

 assumes that one of these factors is operative without the 

 other, that there are in fact two separable sets of factors for 

 which the two terms stand. There is apparent agreement, 

 however, that the quality of human life may be substantially 

 improved. Whatever we may think of the process by which 

 human nature comes to be changed, there is a widespread 

 feeling that change in essential qualities has gone on in the 

 past, that it is going on now — and that we may hope to 

 learn how to influence the change in the future. That is 

 to say, in one sense or another we are all " evolutionists." 



