EVOLUTION THE MASTER-KEY 



when the determinist refers the issue of all volition 

 to the influence of heredity and environment, this 

 latter term has a far wider meaning than is often 

 given it. Environment includes more than ma- 

 terial circumstances, such as the satisfactoriness 

 or otherwise with which my fountain-pen happens 

 to be working to-night, though that might well de- 

 termine my action. Every content of my con- 

 sciousness, every memory of my past behavior in 

 such circumstances, every subconscious memory 

 somewhere recorded ingrained in my brain-cells 

 (in other words, every ingrained habit) is part of 

 the environment which helps to determine my 

 action to-night. Thus properly interpreted, to he- 

 redity and environment may be referred all the 

 motives, all the pros and cons, which compete 

 within me until one or other, or the sum of several, 

 finally determines me to work or refreshment. 



The libertarian will not dispute that my char- 

 acter will decide my action in regard to promise- 

 keeping. If he knows a man's character, he " can- 

 not imagine him doing such and such a thing in 

 given circumstances." There are men I suppose 

 whose character is such that they cannot steal, 

 even from a railway company or the state. They 

 are not free to steal, though doubtless many such 

 utterly honest persons would be the first to at- 

 tack determinism. They cannot steal because their 

 whole nature their character forbids them. They 

 do not see that if it is possible to form character 

 that is, to cause character it is proportionately 

 206 



