Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 14.djvu/345

Rh therefore mutual physical dependence, until the constituent life is finally identified with the social function: this corresponds with the ideal of material organization. 3. The reassertion of the independent personality of the constituents, and the alliance of these by moral instead of physical bonds—by mutual love instead of mutual dependence: this has no correspondence in material organization, since it becomes possible only through a higher nature than the material. There are, therefore, two modes of subordinating the individual life to the race—one by mutual dependence, the other by mutual love. The former destroys our personality, the second enhances it. He who loses his independent life by the first method, loses it irretrievably; he who loses it by the second method, shall find it again. The former is the ideal of material organization, and has been partially attained in many forms of society, ancient and modern; the latter is the ideal of Christian civilization. Society is even now in a state of transition between the two.

(b.) Progress.—The more fundamental law of differentiation limits, and in the minds of many persons confuses, the idea of progress. Progress as a law of evolution does not imply advance to successively higher points along every line and in every part; but only that the highest parts become successively higher, and the whole becomes successively greater. The constituent parts of a developing organism, starting from a common level, are some of them advanced to the dignity of brain-cells, and become the instruments of thought, while others sink to the condition of kidney-cells, whose function is only to secrete urine. But the highest cells become higher and higher, and the whole organism becomes greater and more complex.

Again, in the development of the organic kingdom, from the earliest geological times until now, if we could trace the several lines of genetic descent, we would doubtless find as many examples of retrograde as of advance movement. This fact has given rise to most of the dispute concerning the existence or non-existence of a law of evolution in the organic kingdom. This dispute is mostly the result of a misapprehension of the law of evolution. In the process of differentiation of the organic kingdom from a common level, the lines of descent went some upward, some downward, some sideways, every way and any way to reach some unoccupied place and subserve some different function in the economy of Nature, but the dominant classes became successively higher, and the whole organic kingdom successively greater and more highly organized. The tree of life sent its branches, some upward, some sideways, some downward, any way and every way for room and light, but its top went higher and ever higher, and its whole clustering branches became broader and ever broader.

So is it in society: if we could trace all the lines of genetic descent, starting from a common level, some would go upward, some downward, some this way and some that; in social function some would advance to the dignity of philosophic thinkers—the teachers of the race—and