THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY 



utters no truth concerning organic or social de- 

 velopment which is not equally true of all devel- 

 opment. Thus while it is indeed, in the deep- 

 est sense, the ultimate law to which organic and 

 superorganic changes conform, it is silent re- 

 specting the differential characteristics by which 

 these changes are distinguished from inorganic 

 changes. Already in treating of the evolution 

 of life we saw that the ultimate and general 

 formula needed to be supplemented by a de- 

 rivative and special formula, which should de- 

 scribe organic development in terms inapplicable 

 to inorganic phenomena. And this formula we 

 found in the definition of life as the continuous 

 adjustment of inner to outer relations, upon 

 which also was afterwards based our entire the- 

 ory of the evolution of intelligence. 



Now the historic survey into which we were 

 led a moment ago, while inquiring into the 

 progress of moral feelings, showed us that, in 

 this respect also, the evolution of society agrees 

 with the evolution of life in general. The pro- 

 gress of a community, as of an organism, is a 

 process of adaptation^ — a continuous establish- 

 ment of inner relations in conformity to outer 

 relations. If we contemplate material civiliza- 

 tion under its widest aspect, we discover its 

 legitimate aim to be the attainment and main- 

 tenance of an equilibrium between the wants 

 of men and the outward means of satisfying 

 3" 



