SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 319 



In all our discussion, however, while chief stress has been laid on 

 progress by these non-purposeful reactions between societies and 

 between societies and their constituent units, the function of 

 individual and social purposeful activity has been brought to 

 view, especially in the theories of Baldwin and Giddings with 

 emphasis on the social goal of " the evolution of personality 

 through ever higher stages until it attains to the ideal that we 

 name humanity." 1 



With a brief discussion of some of the factors that enter into the 

 transition from matter to mind, from unconscious to purposeful 

 activity, — from passive to active adaptation, — with special 

 attention to Fiske's theory of " prolongation of infancy," we 

 turned to a consideration of the social theories of some who had 

 stressed purposeful activity as expressed in active material 

 adaptation. We noted Ward's contributions concerning material 

 achievement, individual and social telesis, and the power of 

 " nurture " as contrasted with " nature." We considered Pat- 

 ten's theory of " pain-pleasure-creative economy " with well- 

 being measured in terms of health, wealth and culture, and 

 reviewed at length the social theory of Carver with a criticism 

 of his " gospel of the productive life." We saw that with him the 

 goal of cosmic evolution was the super-group possessing the earth 

 by virtue of its greater group efficiency, this efficiency, in turn, 

 being measured by the sum of the efficiency of the individual 

 members as properly organized, directed and controlled. 



Having considered with these writers the fundamental need of 

 active material adaptation we turned to a discussion of active 

 spiritual adaptation and reviewed at length the social philosophy 

 of Novicow as revealed in Les Luttes, bringing out his four-fold 



1 Giddings, Principles of Sociology, p. 421. Ellwood phrases the goal as follows: 

 " The goal and purpose of our life ... is not self-realization, but the progressive 

 realization of a society of harmoniously adjusted individuals." — Sociology in its 

 Psychological Aspects, p. 393. According to Mackenzie, the social goal includes 

 three elements: the subjugation of nature, the perfection of social machinery and 

 personal development including self-restraint. " What we want," he says, " is 

 not a universe in which we may enjoy ourselves, but a universe that shall be inter- 

 esting, i. e., one to which we may devote ourselves, and in devotion to which we 

 may find the realization of a higher life than that of our individual selves." — 

 Introduction to Social Philosophy, ch. IV. 



