212 ADAPTATION AND PROGRESS 
planning his cosmic philosophy deferred to a later time the volume 
that was to describe the change from the inorganic to the organic, 
but never wrote it. The nearest he comes to an explanation 
of psycho-physical parallelism is in a letter in which he makes use 
of a very apt illustration ! to suggest the parallelism but admits 
that we must assume that both the physical and psychical are 
dependent on the Eternal Source of Energy which is behind both 
processes. 
We have noted the assumptions of Ratzenhofer that the original 
force is ever expanding and attaining new forms of life in pro- 
portion as the conditions and elements are provided by the en- 
vironment; indeed most spiritualistic monists assume that the 
transition is possible because the world-ground is intelligent. 
But even so, the change is still left a mystery. We must conclude 
that at present we can at most but describe the process in terms 
of sequence. Nor will a mere logical classification of elements 
that enter in suffice for this. We must assume, provisionally, 
that for scientific purposes this is a law-abiding cosmic order and 
in the spirit of Darwin endeavor to find the various elements, 
locate the stages of development and their order of sequence. 
But we may still hold that this fails to give us the life of values 
of conscious experience.” 
The crucial point in the transition process from passive to 
active adaptation in its higher manifestations, is the power of 
choice between two apparently different courses of action. Prac- 
tically all monists tell us that all we mean by freedom of choice is 
that it is determined by individual character rather than by out- 
ward constraint; but this fails to satisfy. The logical conclusion, 
1 Duncan, Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer, pp. 237-239. 
2 Compare with this the conclusion of Professor Henderson of Harvard in his 
book, The Fitness of the Environment: ‘‘ We may be sure that, whatever successes 
science shall in future celebrate within the domain of teleology, the philosopher 
will never cease to perceive the wonder of a universe which moves onward from 
chaos to perfect harmonies, and, quite apart from any possible mechanistic 
explanation of origin and fulfilment, to feel it a worthy subject of reflection. 
From this point of view, however, science need expect no interference, but without 
any last vestige of former shackles may pursue the search after mechanistic 
explanations of all natural phenomena,” p. 311. He quotes Royce with seeming 
approval. 
