54 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of the fittest, as known to biology, ceased among men. Ever since, 

 so far as there has been a struggle affecting the survival of the 

 fittest, and that struggle continues to the present day in certain 

 ways, it has been of a different sort, and one which must not be 

 confounded with the biologic law of the survival of the fittest. 

 Major Powell has admirably shown how the strictly biologic 

 struggle has ceased in man, but he has not yet shown, as may be, 

 the character of that struggle, largely intellectual, which still 

 works out certain survivals of the fittest. 



Having passed from the point where, if he survive, it must be 

 at the expense of others, man began to recognize and to consider 

 the desires of his fellows, and among others he counted not only 

 his fellows, but mythical and supernatural beings. Thus appeared 

 the greatest natural basis of religion. It is not strange, therefore, 

 that religion should have existed from very early times, and that 

 it should have taught its votaries especially to regard the needs of 

 others. Its mission was to teach a race whose ancestors had been 

 absorbed for untold ages in caring only for self, to adapt itself to 

 a new environment by learning to care for the wants of others. 

 In caring for others, the more powerful soon received superior rec- 

 ognition, so it came to pass that supernatural demands took pre- 

 cedence of the rest. When that point had become clear, men were 

 easily tempted to profess to represent the gods in order that they 

 might share the precedence. In this natural way became estab- 

 lished the order of duty which was taught by every religion prior 

 to Christianity, viz. : 



1. To the gods and their representatives. 2. To self. 3. To 

 others. 



Early Christianity must be credited with changing the order 

 of duty to the following : 1. To its one supernatural being. 2. To 

 all others equally with self. 



Even under this improved system many j^eople are led to make 

 great personal sacrifices in the belief that thereby they are living 

 the noblest life possible to man ; when, in reality, as it is the object 

 of this paper to show, their sacrifices are either useless, or, what is 

 worse, grossly injurious both to themselves and to the supposed 

 beneficiaries. 



During all the untold years in which it was a physical neces- 

 sity to regard self even to the injury of others, our ancestors 

 acquired a predisposition thereto which heredity has brought 

 down the stream of time. As being no longer a necessity, its prac- 

 tice long since became one of the recognized evils of the world. 

 We appl}^ to it the opprobrious epithet of selfishness. There is a 

 better term, and one which does not imply a moral quality, for 

 there may be devotion to one's own interests which should not be 

 so characterized. Egoism is such devotion to one's own interests ; 



