172 ESSAYS OF A BIOLOGIST 



In the second place, by giving us a broader apergu 

 than can otherwise be gained over the evolution of 

 sex and the direction visible in biological history, it 

 clears up to a certain extent some of the difficulties 

 which the discoveries of the psycho-analytic school 

 have rendered acute. 



If the changes in the relation of the sex instinct to 

 the rest of the mind, which I have spoken of above 

 as being in operation at present, should one day 

 progress so far as to be more or less carried through 

 in a majority, or in a dominant section of the popula- 

 tion, the whole outlook of society towards the sex 

 problem would be changed, and the laws and 

 institutions and customs connected with it completely 

 remodelled. 



The most pressing task of those who are thinking 

 over the problem of sex in human life will often be 

 the relief of suffering and the removal of abuses : 

 but the broader view should never be forgotten, and 

 every attempt should be made to think constructively 

 with a view to realizing the enormous possibilities 

 that such a change would bring about. 



