Conclusion 



NO science, even when its subject matter is as con- 

 crete and objective as that of geology or biology, 

 can escape the influence of the social theories, ethical 

 opinions, philosophical or religious conceptions of 

 the day. On the other hand, every scientific idea, 

 too broad to be confined within the narrow limits of 

 a few isolated cases, is bound to exert, either directly 

 or through the intermediary of some other science, a 

 distinct influence upon the discussion of the problems, 

 material, ethical, social or philosophical, which are fore- 

 most at the time in the minds of men. 



It is not our purpose to enlarge upon the philosoph- 

 ical and social bearing of the Lamarckian and of the 

 Darwinian theories; we merely wish to point out cer- 

 tain interesting instances of their application outside 

 of the domain of biology. 



The leading idea of Lamarckism, the influence of 

 the environment, seems to have affected more and 

 more deeply in the course of the past fifty years all 

 our psychological, ethical and social conceptions. The 

 notion of innate has been gradually superseded by the 

 notion of acquired elements. We need not multiply 

 examples : they will come readily to the reader's mind 



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