CHAPTER VIII 



DARWINIAN AND SPENCERIAN CONCEPTIONS OF 

 EVOLUTION SPENCER 



A cosmic philosophy Resting on correlation of forces And on hypothesis of 

 organic evolution Emphasising natural (physical, material) law 

 Darwinism as a cosmic philosophy ? Alexander Cf. Lotze Of. Fiske 

 Spencer values true use-inheritance as accounting for a priori knowledge 

 But natural selection is not the source of his laissez faire doctrine ; he 

 looks forward to a future "balance" His relation to embryology Evolu- 

 tion means growing complexity In terms of matter Two other phases 

 Dissolution as death As catastrophe Equilibrium, is theoretical and 

 prophetic Spencer's sequence of the three phases Criticisms : on the 

 assumed beginning of the process On its isolation On equilibrium, as 

 involving a different point of view Reason is more than a new phase of 

 complexity The whole process breaks up into a series of separate evolu- 

 tions in complexity. 



MR. H. SPENCER'S problem is wider than Darwin's, 

 extending, as it does, to the whole of the phenomenal or 

 "knowable" universe. The impulse to it came from 

 two scientific theories of the age. The first was Grove's 

 proof of the correlation of the physical forces, clenched 

 by Joule's determination of the mechanical equivalent 

 for heat. As a result of this, the inorganic world 

 seemed to gather itself together in one, and to manifest 

 its unity as it had never done before. Phenomenally, 

 the differences remained ; heat was heat, light was light, 

 electricity was electricity ; but it was now proved that 

 some were mutually convertible, and it was henceforth 

 probable that all were so ; it was known that some were 

 modes of motion, and it came to be believed with increas- 

 ing definiteness that all the others were equally modes 



