516 PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



writings than that with which we are at present 

 occupied : the cluster of sciences which from various 

 points of view had approached the social problem in 

 the larger sense of the word. Merely to enumerate 

 them would be to give a long catalogue ; for we have not 

 only the various biological researches which deal in one 

 way or another with man and humanity ; we have like- 

 wise psychology, the science of language, the history of 

 culture and civilisation, and on another side economics, 

 jurisprudence, the science of religion and theology. As 

 from one point of view we may maintain that all these 

 various researches have, during the last fifty years, co- 

 operated in laying the foundation for a philosophy of 

 society, so we may, on the other hand, hold that this 

 combined service has been amply repaid by the reaction 

 of social interests and studies upon these different 

 researches themselves. I can here merely attempt to 

 point out a few general ideas or tendencies of thought 

 which have during this period gained the upper hand, 

 dispelling earlier lines of reasoning or imparting to 

 them new life and vigour. 



The first, and perhaps the most important, among 

 these more recent conceptions, is what we may term 

 the biological view of society. This dates back to the 

 founder of sociology, Auguste Comte himself. But 

 the biological conceptions at his disposal were crude 

 compared with those which stood at the disposal of 

 Darwin or were introduced by him. Nor did Comte 

 show much sagacity in appreciating the enormous pro- 

 gress which biology made during his lifetime. And it 

 is probably owing largely to this fact, pointed out, e.g.. 



