THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



our civilization is today an altar to the god of ma- 

 terial progress.^ 



If the Evolutionists disliked Buckle, they hated 

 Comte; and their constant effort was to disentangle 

 themselves from the accusation of being his followers 

 in positivism. They accused him of not seeing how 

 science would develop, and they accused him of stat- 

 ing that scientific thought tended towards atheism 

 and materialism; whereas, in their opinion, it merely 

 stopped with agnosticism and the Absolute Unknown. 

 Yet in both of these respects they foresaw less clearly 

 than did Comte and Buckle what would be the results 

 of their own philosophy of science, v 



The Evolutionists had so many general traits in 

 common and they formed such a compact and homo- 

 geneous group, that it is possible to discuss their com- 

 mon idea of social organization, and then point out 

 briefly how their individual opinions differed. These 

 men, Spencer, Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel, and Fiske, 

 have received their share of praise and commenda- 

 tion ; they have moulded our thought ; the condition of 

 the world today is largely the result of their teaching; 

 they established biology as a great science; they start- 

 ed the sciences of psycholog}'' and sociology, and fos- 

 tered the science of history, which attract large and 

 enthusiastic, if somewhat vague, groups of followers; 



9 Can we say that Buckle's opinion is discarded ? Will not very many 

 agree with this writer^ "Human civilization goes hand in hand 

 with the degree of successful interference which man exerts on the 

 natural forces around him." 



C 318 3 



