ALTRUISM 265 



thing is emphatically true of man. He cannot use as 

 food the abundant vegetation of the field, but 

 requires the more condensed form of fruits or flesh. 

 Such food is scarce, and from the beginning this 

 fact has led to rivalry and warfare among human 

 races. Such a warlike spirit always leads to disinte- 

 gration. The nature of some savage tribes is so 

 fierce that every one is an enemy, and such people 

 absolutely fail to have any kind of organization. 

 They are driven apart by this warlike nature and 

 fail to associate even in the smallest groups. The 

 family bond itself is insufficient to hold them to- 

 gether, and as soon as the child is able to care for 

 himself he leaves his family and quickly forgets that 

 there is any relationship between himself and the 

 rest. Under such conditions it is impo:ssible for man 

 to develop into the higher grades of intelligence and 

 civilization. That phase of the struggle for exist- 

 ence which involves the rivalry of mankind and the 

 eternal conflicts which have characterized history is 

 opposed to the development of lasting organization, 

 and consequently of civilization. 



Intelligence Leads to Disintegration. — We notice, next, 

 that reason and intelligence also lead to disintegra- 

 tion. Reason results in individualism rather than 

 organization. Reason alone can never give the indi- 

 vidual any sufficient grounds for sacrificing his own 

 interests without promise of return. He may logic- 

 ally argue that, if he will yield his interests, society 

 will be benefited and the public better served; but 

 logic gives no grounds for real personal sacrifice. No 

 argument apart from the ethical one of ouglitness 

 can give adequate reason why one should yield up 

 his personal interests for those of the public. To 



