THEORIES AND MECHANISM OF EVOLUTION 



is rapidly gaining greater and greater con- 

 trol over his environment in all respects, so 

 that his continued existence is more assured 

 from that point than it ever has been. How- 

 ever, there is a sinister aspect to all of this 

 because, while he has acquired sufficient 

 knowledge to direct evolution to a certain 

 extent in the organic world about him, he 

 has done almost nothing in directing his 

 own evolution, either physical or social. 

 Further confusing the issue, he has at his 

 disposal means by which he can annihilate 

 himself, in which respect he is unique 

 among animals. Because his social evolu- 

 tion has not kept pace with his ability to 

 control his physical world, he may destroy 

 himself before he has time to evolve soci- 

 ally. Therefore, the two important aspects 

 of evolution that need man's most earnest 

 attention are those concerned with improv- 

 ing his own germ plasm and those directed 

 toward his social enhancement. 



We already know a great deal about the 

 status of our protoplasm and how to im- 

 prove it, as has been set forth in an earlier 

 chapter. There is little doubt but that 

 within a few hundred or thousand genera- 

 tions we could breed toward a much better 

 adapted man than we have today. What 

 to breed toward is a difficult question, but 

 there are some obvious results that could be 

 strived for. A few ideals that might be 

 sought are, for example, resistance to dis- 

 ease, fewer congenital defects, and, most 



669 



important, a higher grade of intelligence. 

 If the last of these were realized, a solu- 

 tion to the others would follow, because 

 high intelligence is the most important 

 single quahty that has been responsible for 

 placing man where he is now. Continued 

 stress on this trait should lead him to still 

 higher levels. Our problems today stem pri- 

 marily from the fact that we do not know 

 enough about the world around us or the 

 people in it. To take one illustration, and 

 this applies to all fields as well, in the world 

 of science it is impossible for one indi- 

 vidual to accumulate sufficient information 

 to be as proficient in his field as he would 

 like to be. It is certainly true that as the 

 intelligence of a people, as measured by 

 their education, improves, they become 

 better fitted to their environment, or rather 

 they so control their environment that they 

 are better ofiF as a race. Improved intelli- 

 gence would be a great asset to future man. 

 Although feeble efforts have been and 

 are being made toward social evolution, 

 we are even less ready for such changes 

 than we are for measures of race improve- 

 ment. Here again one is inclined to become 

 apprehensive about the matter of time. 

 Will we act soon enough to prevent catas- 

 trophe? If we do, Hojiio sapiens is destined 

 for a glorious future; if we do not, we shall 

 relinquish our position to some lesser ani- 

 mal that even now may be waiting to take 

 our place. 



