INVENTION AND PRODUCTION 229 
locomotion and electric-intercommunication. The process by 
which achievement is handed down is called social heredity; and 
the personality who is the source of social variation is the genius 
of which there are three varieties: the inventive genius, the crea- 
‘tive genius and the philosophic genius.! 
This doctrine, too, is given religious significance. 
Achievement comes to constitute a form of immortality and has an ex- 
ceedingly attractive side. This hope of immortality has doubtless formed 
one of the important motives in all ages, but as the hope of personal immor- 
tality wanes under the glare of scientific truth, especially of biological truth, 
there is likely to be a still stronger tendency in this direction. Whatever 
other forms of immortality may be taught and believed in, the immortality 
of deeds is not an article of faith but a demonstrated fact. The real immor- 
tality is the immortality of achievement. And after all it is a personal 
immortality. Thus far it resembles Christian immortality in that only a 
few attain it. Only the elect are saved. They only are immortal who have 
achieved.? 
Although this doctrine of the immortality of achievement will 
never satisfy those who anticipate conscious existence beyond the 
grave, nor does it offer hope to the toiling masses as does the 
Christian doctrine, it supplements the orthodox view in a most 
helpful way, and is a source of inspiration to the comparatively 
few leaders of social progress whose reward is not primarily from 
their contemporaries for whom they labor and give their lives, 
but whose reward comes in the consciousness that their labor is 
not in vain and that whether or not future generations connect 
their name with their achievement, humanity at large will enjoy 
greater well-being because they have lived. It has special signif- 
icance, however, when applied to the social group. 
To summarize the bearing of Ward’s social philosophy on our 
subject: The process of cosmic evolution up to man is by passive 
physical adaptation interpreted largely in mechanical terms in 
much the same way as did Spencer whom he follows closely in 
many respects. Our author introduces psychical terms, how- 
ever, even here, and considers with Schopenhauer that the world- 
soul with feeling as a dynamic has been pushing out blindly in 
every direction, the adaptive variations blazing the path of 
progress.$ 
1 Pure Sociology, pp. 493 f.  ? Ibid., p. 43. 3 Tbid., chs. VI and VIII. 
