314 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 



social, was developed to a high point by this author, he gave 

 almost no place to the concept of active adaptation. 

 / With a discussion of these two founders of sociology considered 

 both as a science and philosophy, we turned to a discussion of 

 methodology, considering especially the statistical method as 

 developed by Quetelet, the analogical method finding its most 

 complete expression in Lilienfeld, the method of classification as 

 exemplified by De Greef , and the inductive method as outlined by 

 Comte and used by Darwin and his successors, — this method 

 including the historical and what we termed the inverse historical., 

 or the study of the present as a key to the interpretation of the 

 past. 



Turning to the subject of passive physical adaptation, we 

 contrasted the theories of Lamarck and Darwin, the former hold- 

 ing that variation and progress were the result of the activity of 

 the organism in response to felt need of adjustment to life condi- 

 tions, these useful variations being transmitted by heredity; the 

 latter laying chief stress on the passivity of the organism and the 

 active character of nature in selecting, as it were, for survival, 

 those organisms and species particularly qualified to win out in 

 the struggle for existence (including the leaving of offspring), 

 though resorting at times to the supplementary principle of use- 

 inheritance. We reviewed also his Descent of Man in which the 

 same principles are used to explain the development of social 

 instincts, conscience, and indeed, all the qualities that go to make 

 the winning individual and group. The contributions of Weis- 

 mann, De Vries and Mendel were mentioned and a brief survey 

 given of the standing of Darwinism today among leading biol- 

 ogists. Their disagreement on points of vital importance in 

 social philosophy led to the conclusion that biology furnished, as 

 yet, a precarious foimdation for a constructive theory of social 

 progD^ In almost every case, however, adaptation was the one 

 thmg insisted upon, though some gave wide latitude to the degree 

 necessary for survival. 



This general spirit of uncertainty or positive disagreement 

 furnished us a background for the study of social philosophers 

 who have built their theories on the neo-Darwinian formula and 



