INTRODUCTION 



of the "ethical process" in the cosmos, which, if 

 he had followed it out, must have modified his 

 whole position. " Even in these rudimentary forms 

 of society, love and fear come into play, and enforce 

 a greater or less renunciation of self-will. To this 

 extent the general cosmic process begins to be 

 checked by a rudimentary ethical process, which is, 

 strictly speaking, part of the former, just as the 



* governor' in a steam-engine is part of the 

 mechanism of the engine."^ 



Here the whole position is virtually conceded ; 

 and only the pre-conceptions of Darwinism and 

 the lack of a complete investigation into the 

 nature and extent of the " rudimentary ethical 

 process" can have prevailed in the face of such 

 an admission. Follow out the metaphor of the 



* governor,' and, with one important modification, 

 the true situation almost stands disclosed. For 

 what appears to be the 'governor' in the rudi- 

 mentary ethical process becomes the 'steam-engine' 

 in the later process. The mere fact that it exists 

 in the "general cosmic process" alters the quality 

 of that process; and the fact that, as we hope to 

 show, it becomes the prime mover in the later 

 process, entirely changes our subsequent concep- 

 tion of it. The beginning of a process is to 



^Evolution and Ethics^ note 19. 



