GENETICS AND ETHICS 479 



vidual that they cannot be generalized; one 

 cause works in one instance, another in an- 

 other, and so we say that chance determines 

 which alternative is taken, meaning by chance 

 only this that the causes involved cannot be 

 generalized. At critical stages in this process 

 of development the alternatives are so evenly 

 balanced that minor considerations, which we 

 call chance, determine which path shall be 

 taken; but there are no backward steps in de- 

 velopment and once a path has been taken 

 that particular crisis or turning point does 

 not occur again. 



Thus each of us has wandered through the 

 maze of life, chance usually determining which 

 path shall be taken of the many which heredity 

 and environment offer, until he has come to 

 a stage where associative memory makes it pos- 

 sible to profit by experience and where intel- 

 lect and will make possible intelligent choice. 

 With the growth of intellect and will there 

 comes to be a limited degree of freedom and 

 responsibility, and with increasing complexity 

 of organization the number of alternative 

 paths is greatly increased. The possible reac- 



