VIII 



GENERAL 1 



THE action of ordered change in the inanimate 

 world is relatively easy to discover It can be 

 studied in large measure by exact mathematical 

 methods. But whilst it is of immense interest, its 

 practical import is relatively small. To us it 

 really matters little whether the solar system be 

 permanent or the elements really elemental; but 

 when we enter into the realm of life and study or- 

 ganic evolution which is what many people un- 

 derstand by evolution the case is altered. The 

 conclusions at which we shall arrive must inevita- 

 bly affect our notions of human conduct and destiny 

 and of our relations to the living world around us. 



Let us begin by contemplating the problems 

 which confront us. 



If we are to do so in logical order we must begin 

 with the question of the origin of life, which obvi- 

 ously precedes that of the origin of species. As- 

 tronomy and geology compel us to believe that there 

 was a time when life did not exist upon the earth. 



1 The classification of our subject matter into inorganic, 

 organic, and superorganic is borrowed from Comte. 



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