Page:Karl Kautsky - Ethics and The Materialist Conception of History - tr. J. B. Askew (1906).pdf/103

 With the development of language a very powerful means of social cohesion is gained, an enormous strengthening and a clear consciousness of the social impetus. But at the same time it certainly produced quite other effects; it is the most effectual means of retaining acquired knowledge, of spreading it, and handing it on to later generations; it first makes it possible to form concepts, to think scientifically, and thus it starts the development of science, and with that brings about the conquest of nature by science.

Now man acquires a mastery over Nature and also an apparent independence of her external influences which arouse in him the idea of freedom. On this I must be allowed a short deviation.

Schopenhauer very rightly says: "The animal has only visual presentations, and consequently only motives which it can visualise: the dependence of its acts of will on the motives is thus clear. In man this is no less the case, and men are impelled (always taking the individual character into account) by the motives with the strictest necessity: only these are not for the most part visual but abstract presentations, that is, conceptions, thoughts which are nevertheless the result of previous views, thus of impressions from without. That gives to man a certain freedom in comparison with the animals. Because he is not, like the animal, determined by the visual surroundings present before him but by his thoughts drawn from previous experiences or transmitted to him through teaching. Hence the motive which necessarily moves him is not at once clear to the observer when the deed happens; but it remains concealed within his mind. That gives not only to his actions taken as a whole, but to all his movements, an obviously different character from those of the animal: he is at the same time drawn by finer invisible wires. Thus all his movements bear the impress of being guided by principles and intentions, which gives them the appearance of independence, and obviously distinguishes them from those of the animal. All these great distinctions depend, however, entirely on the capacity