10 The higher forms of life imply wider 



case of life, we are seeking to interpret the 

 meaning of a continuous series we must start 

 where that meaning is clearest, where it is 

 best known and most definite, not where it 

 is least known and most inchoate. 



Working in this fashion from ourselves 

 downward, what then, we may now ask, do we 

 find as the irreducible m^inimum which all 

 life implies ; and what are the most general 

 characteristics that mark every advance from 

 lower forms to higher ? To the first question 

 the answer, I trust, may here suffice that life 

 everywhere implies an individual and an 

 environment. To changes in this environ- 

 ment the individual's behaviour is, or tends 

 to be, so adjusted as to secure its well-being. 

 For — it is worth remarking by the way — 

 throughout the realm of life the category of 

 value, which such terms as well-being and 

 ill-being imply, is relevant, though irrelevant 



