326 THE BIOVOSMOS PARTICULARIZED. 



At this point is concluded the second stage 

 of Animal-life, the assimilative, which has 

 unfolded itself in three main processes : the 

 Organism inwardly directed then outwardly 

 directed, and finally self-directed. All these 

 processes have the same general object: to 

 transform the outer world into the inner Or- 

 ganism which does the work of transforma- 

 tion. But now the opposite has to show it- 

 self: this inner Organism makes itself outer 

 or another; from transforming an object into 

 itself, it proceeds to transform itself into an 

 object. It not merely assimilates but gener- 

 ates. In Assimilation the Organism has re- 

 produced itself within itself; in Generation 

 it has reproduced itself in another. In the 

 one case there is appropriation, in the other 

 there is impartation. We may call the first 

 case self-regarding (individualistic), the sec- 

 ond is other-regarding (altruistic). 



We may conceive Generation to be Assimil- 

 ation turned about and rounding itself out to 

 a whole; the Organism assimilates itself to 

 a new entire Organism assimilating. This is 

 the inherent logic of the transition : when the 

 principle of Assimilation is applied to itself, 

 or made universal, it can no longer one-sidedly 

 subsume the object under itself, but must also 

 subsume itself under the object; the Organ- 

 ism, from making the object like to itself, 



