

INSTINCT, REASON, ETC. 73 



by means of its own interest inherent, a new order of things 

 was established, and philosophers now believe they see some- 

 thing of the end to which these wonderful evolutionary 

 processes have been tending. 



Henceforth psychical power rules the world ; brute force 

 loses its value as the world becomes more reasoning and 

 civilised, and now survival of the fittest does not necessarily 

 demand the extinction of those physically weak. In the 

 future, man steps in and modifies Nature's work in natural 

 selection, by selection in accordance with his needs. Hence- 

 forth brains, not body; soul, not brute force and brute 

 instinct, rules created beings. Where will it end ? one asks, 

 and the soul cries out for " more light." When humanity 

 began to evolve a new chapter in the history of the universe 

 opened. Henceforth the end of Evolution is not genesis of 

 species, but increase in civilisation. And yet grand as the 

 human soul is, wonderful as the potentialities of his brain, his 

 difference in kind from the brutes is but the accumulation of 

 differences in degree by natural selection. 



Along with the first dawning of consciousness we find an 

 extension of the period of infancy, and as we ascend in the 

 scale of creation we find that the new-born animal remains 

 helpless, and dependent on its parents for a longer period. 

 This lengthening of the period of infancy which is required to 

 develop structures too complex for the prenatal period to 

 afford time : moreover, requiring for their complete develop- 

 ment to bring out the power of adjusting means to ends, is a 

 most important landmark in Evolution. 



The helplessness of the offspring calling forth help from 

 the parents re-acts on them, and impulses, emotions, passions, 

 and all the social instincts are stimulated. 



Natural selection preserves that family which has best 

 learned the lesson that " union is strength " ; a step higher 

 we find aggregations of individuals forming into colonies. 

 The power for good in this first dawning of acts not purely 

 selfish is immense. With increase in the demand for these 

 acts, increase in size and complexity of the structures involved 

 will result, for " function begets structure " ; until at last like 

 the first rays of luminosity from the rising sun, a faint spark 

 of conscience is visible, and from the demands of social acts a 

 code of right and wrong is established. The circle extends 

 from the family to the clan, from the clan to the state, and 

 finally, let us hope, it will embrace all humanity. 



Thus we see the importance of the lengthening of the 

 period of dependence in the young animal in Evolution. 



