Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 8.djvu/594

 574 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

not real, woman would take a place in society equal to that of man, and it would greatly increase her happiness.

Among prehistoric peoples there was no difference intellectually between men and women, and the same is true of modern savages. The difference between men and women is not one belonging to the physical or psychical order, but it is a social fact. The subordination of woman is the result of the difference in occupations ; it has its origin in social ideas. For a long period the chase and war were considered the most important functions of society. As such they assumed a special character of dignity and honor. From the fact that woman was excluded from these occupations she was underrated in the eyes of men. Confined to the despised occupations she shared in the lack of consideration for this work, and from this fact the idea of her physical and intellectual inferiority was enthroned in the social mind.

The proposition which asserts the inferiority of woman will not bear criticism from any point of view. Superiority or inferiority in the human species is not the result of sexual differences. If the difference in regard to muscular strength or cour- age is considered, it is found that there are a large number of women who are as strong physically, as many men, and, indeed, as courageous, while in both respects men are often inferior to women.

In regard to intellectual ability it can only be said that the science of psychology has not advanced far enough to warrant any scientific conclusions here. In coun- tries like America, where woman has been granted conditions approaching equality, as in some of the schools, it has been demonstrated that her work compares favor- ably with that of men. It is impossible to form a correct judgment as to the physi- cal qualities, for even in the most advanced countries woman is still subjected to many disadvantages when compared to man. It is not necessary to emphasize the fact that she has done little in the intellectual realm, for, perhaps, if all the difficulties which she has had to surmount were taken into consideration, the results might be vastly different.

Our conclusion is that, in consequence of the predominance of brutal force in the period of primitive savagery, woman became the possession of man, his slave, his property. When savagery gave place to a regime allowing a certain amount of justice and security, woman should have been enfranchised, but the habits and traditions of man were opposed to it. A day came, however, when the injustice of certain institu- tions became evident to all. It was then that the attempt was made to justify the subjection of woman by declaring that she was intellectually inferior to man. This discovery was made for the purpose of making legitimate an iniquity which the con- science of man had begun to condemn.

Woman has been kept in this subordinate position because she was placed there centuries ago by our coarse and ignorant ancestors. I may give an example of the form of reasoning often used to prove the inferiority of woman. When woman suf- frage happened to show some bad results in countries where it has been established, the claim is usually made that it is due to the ignorance of the voters, their indiffer- ence or immorality. These same critics forget to note that manhood suffrage also often gives bad and very unsatisfactory results, but no one attributes this to sex quali- ties. Admitting, for the sake of argument, that woman is inferior to man, it is an injustice to speak of it constantly in that way, for it is not her fault. There are men manifestly below the normal in ability, but they are not deprived of their civil and political rights. Why should this be done in the case of woman? If she is really inferior, it would be better to assure her those favors and privileges that would tend to lessen her disadvantages. J. NoviCOW, " La pre"tendue inferiority de la femme," in La Revue, November, 1902. E. M.

Social Teleology and its Mechanism. Is there a fixed end for society? This question can be answered only by tracing the laws of social evolution, and the only side of this process that is scientifically observable is its mechanical side, its mechanism. On this side are observable three stages, characterized by three distinct laws:

I. The law of mental inertia and least effort. All our social institutions have been created little by little through many generations, each adding some small inno- vation that required a very small mental effort. Social evolution is accomplished