226 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVI. No. 921 



attempt to bridge. The scientist may be a 

 silent follower of the idealist, but has no 

 right to make even a suggestion, and to 

 attempt to point out the way is the height 

 of assumption on his part. The idealist is 

 supposed to walk on a higher plane than 

 the poor, materialistic scientist. The for- 

 mer dwells in the clouds. His food is the 

 nectar of Olympus, and he spins his raiment 

 from the philosophical theories evolved 

 from his inner consciousness. 



That I have not misstated the attitiide of 

 the modern idealistic philosopher toward 

 modern science is shown by the following 

 quotation from the work entitled "The 

 Problem of Life, ' ' by Professor Eucken, of 

 Jena. This book secured for its author the 

 Nobel prize in 1908. In speaking of the 

 theory of evolution Professor Eucken says : 



We are not concerned with the theory in its 

 scientific aspect, but merely as it affects the atti- 

 tude toward life. From this point of view it is of 

 paramount importance to keep the two stages of 

 the doctrine clearly distinct. It is mainly the 

 theory of natural selection that has ventured to 

 come forward with a new and original view of life. 

 By completely assimilating man to nature, it leaves 

 the shaping of man's life with the forces which 

 appear to control the formation of natural types. 

 Life is thereby robbed of all that had given it 

 inner worth, and dignity; the form which it takes 

 is determined solely by circumstance, and is main- 

 tained only in so far as it proves serviceable in the 

 struggle for existence. Advance is only made 

 when properties which chance has brought together 

 are maintained on account of their usefulness, in- 

 herited, and in the course of time wrought into the 

 species. But since there can be no inward appro- 

 priation of this gain, there can also be no joy in 

 the good and beautiful for their own sake. All we 

 win is simply an added means of self-preservation. 

 We have already seen in Adam Smith the effect of 

 a doctrine of mere utility in lowering the status of 

 the inward life, and here we see it in its extreme 

 form. The inward life loses all independent 

 value. The only right is the right of the stronger; 

 all humanness, in particular, all care for the weak 

 and suffering would simply take the heart out of 

 the struggle, and therefore be a piece of pernicious 



folly. If in this blind medley of conflicting forces 

 there be anything at all left for us to do, it can 

 only be to make the struggle for existence as hard, 

 persistent and ruthless as we can, so that all the 

 unfit may be weeded out, and the process of selec- 

 tion be made as speedy as possible. 



This is the estimate placed upon the doc- 

 trine of evolution by one of the foremost of 

 modern philosophers. Notice that he 

 speaks of the scientist venturing to suggest 

 something bearing on the problem of life. 

 Rash and foolish scientist, what right has 

 he to make a suggestion concerning the 

 higher life? He should have known that 

 the realm of philosophy is wholly beyond 

 the domain of science, which concerns itself 

 with only things material. The learned 

 author objects to completely assimilating 

 man with nature. This implies that he 

 thinks man, in part at least, supernatural. 

 If so, in what particular, may we inquire? 

 If man is not shaped by the conditions 

 under which he is born, his ancestry, and 

 those under which he lives, his environ- 

 ment, pray tell what does shape him? 

 "Why the various races and varieties? If 

 there be something supernatural in man, 

 something that is not determined by nat- 

 ural conditions, why are there physical dif- 

 ferences, intellectual inequalities and moral 

 deviations among different peoples and 

 among the same nations in successive gen- 

 erations? How many Pasteurs, Goethes or 

 Shakespeares has the Ethiopian produced ? 

 This supernatural part of man in which the 

 modern philosopher believes must be very 

 capriciously distributed, and how is the dis- 

 tribution determined ? Is blind chance the 

 agent, or is the distribution made by some 

 fickle God ? Professor Eucken says that the 

 assumption that types of men are deter- 

 mined by natural conditions robs life of all 

 that gives it inner worth and dignity. 

 Types of men exist. This can not be de- 

 nied. If they do not result from natural 



