542 



Darwinism and History 



of genetic history or at least followed in the footsteps of those who 

 fully grasped the genetic point of view. But their aim has been to 

 collect and sift evidence, and determine particular facts ; com- 

 paratively few have given serious thought to the lines of research and 

 the speculations which have been considered in this paper. They 

 have been reasonably shy of compromising their work by applying 

 theories which are still much debated and immature. But historio- 

 graphy cannot permanently evade the questions raised by these 

 theories. One may venture to say that no historical change or trans- 

 formation will be fully understood until it is explained how social 

 environment acted on the individual components of the society (both 

 immediately and by heredity), and how the individuals reacted upon 

 their environment. The problem is psychical, but it is analogous to 

 the main problem of the biologist. 



