EVOLUTION AND SOCIETY 



drawn from, or added to, the vessel the pressure 

 would not be changed. These assumptions are neces- 

 sary parts of the mathematical law of probability and 

 chance. They cannot now, and never can, be made 

 about the individual members of society. The num- 

 ber of the individuals is not indefinitely large; the 

 personality of any individual cannot be predicted 

 from the characteristics of his ancestors and the opin- 

 ion of the public is moulded, or at least greatly in- 

 fluenced, by the character of a few individuals. Even 

 the most ardent sociologist must admit that the birth 

 or death of a great man affects profoundly the course 

 of history. Thus, the aim of the physicist is directed 

 solely to the formulation of laws which eliminate the 

 acts of individual molecules; the aim of history and 

 sociology is fundamentally concerned with the mu- 

 tual relations between individuals and society. 



We may then take the doctrine of free-will, or the 

 ability of each individual to choose between two lines 

 of thought or conduct and to be held responsible for 

 his choice, as the fundamental difference between the 

 humanistic and scientific attitude towards society. It ' 

 is quite clear that an unreserved acceptance of evolu- 

 tion according to natural law precludes the belief in 

 free-will. Fiske, following the example of Spencer, 

 devotes a chapter m]\\s Cosmic Philosophy to the dis- 

 cussion of free-will and, as he believes that all social 

 phenomena are subject to law, he makes short work 

 of the doctrine; expressing the conviction that belief 



C 335 3 



