Variability in Man, and Social Questions. 157 



as the result of variability, are favorable to the survival 

 of the individual increase in relative number by the nat- 

 ural elimination of unfa^vorable ones. New varieties and 

 species arise by the gradual accumulation, generation by 

 generation, of the favorable deviations from the original 

 type. 



And then he adds, 'The substance of the fifth thesis 

 is often challenged on the ground that we are not in a 

 position to state that deviations from a certain type can 

 lead to the origin of a new species by the elimination of 

 the unfit. Fortunately we need not wait for the settle- 

 ment of this controversy. I have only enunciated the 

 5th thesis in order to give a complete survey of Darwin's 

 theory; but it has no bearing zvliatsoever on our present 

 socio-anthro polo gical inquiry/' 



This is not the place in which to go further into this 

 question. The danger of the application of the theory 

 of descent to social questions has already been pointed 

 out by men who are cjualified to express an opinion. 

 Quite lately Karl Pearson has severely criticized Ben- 

 jamin Kidd's book on social evolution which is often 

 recommended in England as the best up-to-date work 

 on the subject. If the reader is not clear as to what is 

 meant by the dangers, to which we have referred, which 

 attend the application of the so-called scientific method 

 to the treatment of these problems he will do well to 

 read this critical essay carefully.-^ 



So long as it is impossible to investigate the social 

 qualities of man directly it must suffice to do what we 

 can by analogy. Material for this argument is afforded 

 by the study of variability in the stricter sense of the 



^ Karl Pearson, Socialism and Natural Selection, The Fort- 

 nightly Review, 1894. 



