260 Evolution of Morals. 



ganic life, consciousness is vague, indefinite, and protoplasmic 

 — limited to mere sentience in its most primitive and undif- 

 ferentiated form. Such organisms manifest but little evi- 

 dence of definite, conscious purpose. Their action is mainly 

 automatic, in response to external stimuli. The polyp has 

 no special organs of sense ; it does not even seek intelli- 

 gently for its food, or manifest a definite purpose to propa^ 

 gate its kind. Its action is more like that of a vegetable 

 than a conscious being. Attached to a support, it appro- 

 priates suitable articles of nourisliment whenever they are 

 brought in contact with it by the action of external forces. 

 It propagates its race by gemmation or budding, like a 

 vegetable organism. The differentiation of purposeful 

 actions, as we ascend the scale of being, is a gradual and 

 progressive process — a process of evolution. With greater 

 complexity of structure, we find an ever-increasing number 

 of purposeful actions, directed toward definite and intelligi- 

 ble ends. Food is intelligently sought, instead of being 

 passively appropriated from accidental contact. Dangers 

 are intentionally avoided. Life becomes less the sport of 

 accident — comes more and more within the scope of intelli- 

 gent volition. The probability of fulfilling its natural 

 period steadily increases as we advance from infusorium to 

 ascidian, from ascidian to fish, from fish to reptile, from 

 reptile to mammal, from brute to man. Life not only in- 

 creases in relative duration, but also in breadth or amount. 

 Conduct increases in complexity as it reaches successively 

 higher stages of evolution. In estimating the relative posi- 

 tion of an organism in the scale of being, we must consider 

 not merely the length of its life, but rather the sum of its 

 vital activities. The elephant lives longer than man, but 

 it does not live as much as man. Its activities are fewer, 

 its adjustments of acts to ends less definite and numerous. 

 This principle of the gradual evolution of conduct in defi- 

 niteness and complexity applies not only to conduct in gen- 

 eral, but also, evidently, to those volitional acts which 

 constitute the yet undifferentiated protoplasm of moral 

 conduct. 



The primary motive which governs the purposeful actions 

 of the lower organisms is the desire for self-i)reservation. 

 Their voluntary movements are directed to securing nutri- 

 ment, and to escaping from dangers Avhich threaten to 

 terminate their existence. Propagating with marvelous 



