BIOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY 515 



to say this although there seems at present much more danger 

 of the converse practical fallacy of forgetting that the biological 

 ideal of a healthful, self-sustaining, evolving human breed is as 

 fundamental as the sociological ideal of a harmoniously integrated 

 society is supreme. 



In any case, it is useful to recognise that the biological and 

 the sociological ideals are not synonymous. As a matter of 

 fact, though the former should contribute to the latter, which 

 should include it, the practical clashing of the two ideals is 

 familiar and interesting. Sociologically regarded, illegitimate 

 children do not appear to be very desirable ; biologically re- 

 garded, .they are often very valuable assets. Sociologically 

 regarded, it seems quite consistent with progress that the trawling 

 industry should flourish ; but, what with pleasant food on the 

 one hand and pleasant dividends on the other, we run some 

 risk of forgetting what the biologist deplores, the elimination 

 of the splendid physical type of the line fisherman and the 

 threatened disappearance of one of the manliest of callings. 

 Scores of similar instances will occur to every one. 



The danger of trying to press biological formulae into the 

 service of sociological interpretation is complicated by the 

 actual history of the sciences. It is well known that the socio- 

 logical inquiries of Malthus as to human population influenced 

 Darwin, Wallace, and Spencer, and that the concept of natural 

 selection in the struggle for existence came to biology from 

 above rather than from within its own sphere. The same is 

 true of the fruitful idea of division of labour, of the general 

 idea of evolution itself, and of others they came to biology 

 from the human social realm. 



To keep to the concept of selection for a moment : it was 

 applied to plants and animals, it was illustrated, justified if not 

 demonstrated, and formulated ; and now with the imprimatur 

 of biology it comes back to sociology as a great law of life. That 

 it is so we take for granted, but it is surely evident that in social 



