The Supremacy of Conscience 297 



munity. The judgment of the community is 

 far from infallible ; he says : 



The judgment of the community will generally be 

 guided by some rude experience of what is best in the 

 long run for all the members; but this judgment will 

 not rarely err from ignorance and weak powers of 

 -reasoning. Hence the strangest customs and super- 

 stitions, in complete opposition to the true welfare 

 and happiness of mankind, have become all-powerful 

 throughout the world. We see this in the horror 

 felt by a Hindoo who breaks his caste, and in many 

 other such cases. ^ 



And in the summary of his theory he returns to the 

 same point: 



But with the less civilized nations reason often errs, 

 and many bad customs and base superstitions come 

 within the same scope, and are then esteemed as high 

 virtues, and their breach as heavy crimes.* 



Darwin finds the remedy for such wrong moral 

 standards in the reason and conscience of the 

 individual, who can thus rise above the current 

 standards of morality and aid in establishing 

 higher standards more in accord with the true 

 welfare of humanity. Thus he says : 



... As love, sympathy, and self-command become 

 strengthened by habit, and as the power of reasoning 

 becomes clearer, so that man can value justly the 

 judgments of his fellows, he will feel himself impelled, 



" The Descent of Man, p. 137. » Idem, pp. 635-36. 



