CHAPTEE IY. 



DARWINISM AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF MORALS. 



It is important to fix accurately in mind what 

 the subject of the present chapter is. With Dar 

 win s own ethical views and speculations we have 

 now nothing to do, though the exposition and ex 

 amination of them (both in themselves and in re 

 lation to his natural science) must form the topic 

 of a later chapter. Just at present, however, our 

 inquiry is of a more general character. We want 

 to know whether, the Darwinian doctrine of evo 

 lution being assumed, it entails any particular 

 theory of morals. Or, since natural selection is 

 the essence of the scientific achievement of Dar 

 win, we have simply to ask, Does natural selec 

 tion involve or indicate a definite type of ethics, 

 so that acceptance of the one logically necessi 

 tates acceptance of the other ? This question, it 

 is obvious, is not identical with an inquiry into 

 Darwin s own moral system, which, though de 

 pendent upon some philosophical principle, may 



