ALTRUISM 261 



revolution leaves civilization in a position to occupy 

 a higher plane than before. Each century settles 

 some questions so positively that they can never be 

 raised again. In spite of the constant forcing of 

 egoism to the front, in spite of the fact that the inter- 

 ests of self are active and quick, nevertheless the 

 principle of altruism, that demands justice and 

 equality of opportunity for all, is more fundamental, 

 and for this reason is slowly winning the contest for 

 civilization. The development of society, though 

 permeated by greed and selfishness, has morality 

 and ethics as its goal, and toward that goal man- 

 kind has been progressing from the earliest period 

 when the human family was organized. 



Why Is Civilization Dependent upon Altruism? 



Why is it that after mankind had developed its 

 physical body under the influence of the law of per- 

 sonal struggle, its further development was depend- 

 ent upon its separating itself from this fundamental 

 law? How can it be that, while evolution and ad- 

 vance among animals has demanded the rigorous 

 action of the law of natural selection, the evolution 

 and advance of man is possible only when this 

 struggle of individual with individual is checked? 



Ethics Places Society Above the Individual The an- 

 swer to this question is that human evolution is 

 social and not organic; and ethics places society 

 above the individual. Ethics leads a man to follow 

 certain lines of action, not because they are best 

 fitted for him personally, but because society in gen- 

 eral will be better off if all its members follow cer- 

 tain rules of life. The law of the greatest good for 

 the greatest number underlies ethics; and if we ex- 



