WEAKNESS OP THE ALTRUISTIC SENTIMENTS 407 



as tte vanquislied, must needs ask himself at one moment or 

 another, " Whither leads this path ?" Detached from everything, 

 thrown back on his own resources, he sees no aim to his Streben, 

 no tangible result to his efforts — for as fast as the old desires 

 are satisfied new desires arise — and life must needs appear to him 

 as valueless. Suicide is resorted to when life no longer possesses 

 any value ; and life can possess value only if satisfaction be 

 afforded to our fundamental need for expansion. Individualism 

 affords no such satisfaction ; and with the growth of individualism 

 the rate of suicide must undergo a corresponding increase. 

 Here once more we have an a priori inference which is justified 

 by the facts ascertained a posteriori. 



But if this be the case — if this a priori inference be indeed 

 justified by the facts ascertained a posteriori — how does this 

 affect the thesis of Mr. Kidd, that the primary force shaping the 

 development of our Western civilisation is to be sought in the 

 effect produced on us by the ethical teaching of Christianity ? 

 Does it not show that, not the gentle altruism of the Sermon on 

 the Mount, but imbridled egoism, dominates the greater part of 

 our social life to-day ? True, as we have seen, altruism does 

 tend to play a role in our social evolution ; but, unfortunately, 

 it has misunderstood its role, and, even in this misunderstood 

 role, its infiuence is strictly limited to a very narrow sphere. 

 Outside this sphere the conflict rages ; and our economic con- 

 ditions are not those most propitious to the waging of this con- 

 flict. But, be that as it may, conflict is in itself necessary to 

 human progress ; and the very notion of conflict, the very notion 

 of the survival of the fittest, is essentially non-altruistic ; so 

 that to preach the necessity of conflict and the beneficence of 

 altruism at one and the same time is not quite consistent. 



It may be objected that suicide, like crime, is a normal feature 

 of social life, since it is constant ; and that it rids the social 

 organism of a number of useless members. That suicide does, to 

 a certain extent, operate thus as a selective factor is incontest- 



