172 WHAT EVOLUTION IS 



wise reasonable. It will probably soon 

 come to be a recognized function of 

 the state to guard against offspring 

 from those of its wards who, because 

 of serious heritable incapacity, are on 

 its hands. How this is to be accom- 

 plished — through segregation, steril- 

 ization, or some other effective means 

 — is a practical question that com- 

 munities may sooner or later be called 

 upon to settle. In the performance of 

 this duty society, like natural selec- 

 tion, will concern itself not so much 

 with the life of the individual as with 

 what that life may transmit to future 

 generations. 



Thus man's nature though in many 

 respects apparently contradictory to 

 that of the animals below him is after 

 all grounded on the same basic prin- 

 ciples. He has evolved far beyond 

 the vast majority of creatures and 

 though he has reached a level where 



