Cook: Heredity Denied by Buddhists 



479 



through the barriers of Oriental ex- 

 clusiveness, are alarmed by the "pres- 

 sure of population" that begins to pour 

 out, much as the poor fisherman of 

 The Arabian Nights was terrified by 

 the genii that came out of the bottle 

 picked up on the seashore. 



Exclusion of Asiatic immigrants from 

 a few countries is no solution of the 

 general Oriental problem. If the re- 

 productive pressure of the Orient is to 

 continue even for a few centuries, it is 

 clear that the world must be Oriental- 

 ized, simply by natural increase. Con- 

 trol of the Orient by the European 

 nations results in a more rapid increase 

 of population than under the less 

 efficient native systems of government. 

 The real danger is not that of imme- 

 diate military aggression from Japan 

 or other oriental countries, but the 

 gradual, peaceable, passive extension 

 of the oriental races, who have devel- 

 oped and adapted themselves to a kind 

 of existence that enables them to 

 undermine and destroy other forms of 

 civilization, and destroy or absorb 

 other races. 



Hence it is a problem of heredity, 

 or at least of biology, to recognize, 

 explain, and if possible to find means 

 of controlling this Oriental over-pro- 

 duction. The point raised by Dr. 

 Bell obviously is important, and may 

 prove fundamental. If Dr. Bell's ar- 

 gument is well founded, and it is true 

 that a failure of the more capable ele- 

 ments of a race to leave posterity 

 tends to an excessive production of the 

 less capable, it may be easier to under- 

 stand the present conditions in Asia, 

 and the problems that the Oriental con- 

 tacts are now forcing upon the Western 

 nations. If Dr. Bell is right, the over- 

 population, poverty, degeneration and 

 misery of the oriental countries may be 

 traced to the Buddhist doctrines that 

 tend to race-suicide among the superior 

 elements of the oriental nations, and to 

 excessive multiplication of the less 

 capable. 



GENERAL INFLUENCE OF HEREDITY 



Knowledge of heredity may have 

 epoch-making importance in its reac- 



tion upon the human mind, quite apart 

 from any applications of heredity in 

 breeding and eugenics. The value of 

 science in liberating the mind is second 

 only to the utility of direct applica- 

 tions, and sometimes the indirect 

 results are the more important. Noth- 

 ing was changed directly by proving 

 that the earth moves with the other 

 planets around the sun, instead of being 

 the center of the celestial system, but 

 the progress of astronomy had an 

 enormous effect in stimulating the 

 general advancement of learning. Sci- 

 ence has been described as "common 

 sense," but this is misleading. Science 

 is not the common sense of generally 

 accepted opinion, but has for its pri- 

 mary object the study of new facts, 

 that have not figured in the common 

 sense of accepted opinion — facts that 

 are "scientific" because they increase 

 knowledge. After the new facts are 

 recognized and assimilated into the 

 body of knowledge, the common sense 

 is changed, because people do not 

 consciously and intentionally disre- 

 gard facts. Beliefs are held easily 

 against doubts, or contrary opinions 

 but not against ascertained facts. 



KNOWLEDGE OF HEREDITY LEADS TO 

 APPRECIATION OF INDIVIDUAL RESPON- 

 SIBILITY 



The facts of heredity, when they are 

 sufficiently known, must have a very 

 profound influence, by making it im- 

 possible for well-intentioned, high- 

 minded people to be hypnotized by 

 superstitious ideas, and made insensi- 

 ble to primary considerations of human 

 welfare. It is the suicide of the mind 

 that causes suicide of the body, and 

 leads to the "race-suicide" of those who 

 are made to believe that some other 

 interest is more important, some action 

 more righteous, some duty more exi- 

 gent, than marrying the right wife and 

 raising the right children. As Dr. Bell 

 has told us, this kind of high-motive 

 race-suicide defeats its own purpose, 

 in ways that the high-minded people 

 have not taken into account. To 

 exalt celibacy is to debase woman by 

 seeing her as a snare of evil instead of 



