Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/500

* FAMILIARITY. 150 FAMINE. by the laws of association. The 'knownness' is something more simple. "The consciousness of familiarity ... is an unanalyzable mental fact." We must simply assume it to be a "pe- culiar property of centrally excited sensations" whose substrate is "not the actual process in the brain-cent res themselves, but the process in which the nervous current is transferred from one brain- centre to another." For Wundt, the familiarity-consciousness is a 'feeling of recognition' (akin to pleasure, as its opposite, 'unexpectedness,' is akin to pain), due, perhaps, to the greater ease with which the nervous elements respond to a kind of excitation previously experienced. The feeling, however, im- plies the presence of a background of ideational processes. Consult: Baldwin, Mental Develop- ment in the Child and the Race (New York, 1895) ; Hoffding, Yierteljahrsschrift fur uissen- schaftliohe Philosophic, xiii., xiv. (Leipzig, 1899-90) ; Kiilpe, Outlines of Psychology (trans. London, 1895) ; Titchener, Outlines of Psychology (New York, 1899). FAMILIAR SPIRITS. Spirits supposed to attend certain individuals. See Witchcraft. FAMILISTS, FAMILY OF LOVE. See Agapemone. FAMILY (Lat. familia, family). The Ro- mans used the word to denote personal property, and further, to denote the descendants of a com- mon progenitor. In our use the word has this last meaning, and also the more especial reference to the group, father, mother, and children. The prevailing idea has long been that the monogamic family was the original type, and that on this all society has been based, other forms being re- garded as degenerate. This conception has been accepted since Aristotle, who wrote (Politics i. 1 ) that the original family consisted of the husband and wife and the ox, which last is the slave of the poor man. This patriarchal family ■was the simplest and earliest form of govern- ment and became the model of the monarchy later, the sons with their families standing in co- ordinate relation to each other under the head- ship of the father. In Rome the idea of the family was closely connected with the State and the inherent power of the father (patria potestas) was the basis of the social and political life. This conception of the family has been called in question in recent years by the investigations of Bachofen, McLennan, Morgan, and their follow- ers. They find evidence that, primitive man lived in a condition of promiscuity. Westermarck, Maine, and others deny this. The question is not. yet decided. Far too little is known of primitive conditions to make a decision possible. Investi- gations have shown, however, that among manj nations the family, in our sense of Hie word, can scarcely lie said in have existed. Further, many historical nation- have legends of the iicalion of (he family. Among advanced nations are customs which seem I" point to earlier conditions. The present indications are that monogamy must be con idi red as the highest form of the family the human race has yel attained. No people is definitely known to have lived entirely on a 1m i 'i promiscuity, though some have closely approached it There are, however, ai least three types of families which are distinct. The lowest of these is where the wife is at, the head. (See Matriarch ate.) Polyandry is common, and de- scent is reckoned only through the mother. The father is frequently kept at a distance, and some- times is not even regarded as a blood relative of his own children. A higher form is the patriarchal family, which is almost universally accompanied by polygamy. (See Patriarchate.) This form has been widely extended, and prevail- to-day over large sections of the earth. The third form is monogamy. The life of the monogamic family centres about the home, which has become a social and religious ideal. Under Christian intluence the monogamic family attained a development am! importance which it never enjoyed annum pagan peoples. This development was gradual, as. Chris- tianity gained its footing among the converted nations. The spiritual emphasis which Chris- tianity placed upon the connubial relations with the strict obligation of mutual fidelity contrib- uted to this elevation of family life. The home has continued to gain in popular esteem. Its in- fluence in elevating woman, in establishing chas- tity, in training children, in promoting religion, ha- (riven it deserved prominence. Modern chari- table efforts seek to further home life. That the home is the best place for the child has become axiomatic. It is this conception of home which has given the modern family such superiority over all others. It seems decided that our civili- zation will rise or fall with the home. Yet it should be remembered that there are those who from the best motives advocate some scheme of regulated promiscuity. Their views, however, have found little acceptance. In industrial re- lations the family has been important. In all times it has been the unit of production. Though modern industrialism appears to have changed this, the agricultural pursuits remain in the hands of the family; even inheritance seems to be founded on the idea of cooperation between members of the family. The family has also been a unit of consumption. Economic changes have always had a great, if not a determining, effect upon the family. The transformation of England, for example, into a manufacturing country threat- ened to destroy the family life. The change from rural to urban conditions has caused great dis- turbances, and the family is not yet adjusted to the new conditions. The increase of divorce, made easy in the United States by the diversity of State laws, is an indication of the gravity of the changes. ( See Marriage.) Consult: Le- tourneau, Evolution of Marriage and of the Family ( Xew York, 1891); Westermarck, The History nf Human Marriage (London, 18941: Starcke, The Primitive Family (Xew York, 1899); Thwing, The Family (Boston, 1887). FAMILY COMPACT (Fr. pacte de famille). The na given to two alliances between the French and Spanish branches of the House of Bourbon in lT.'t.f and 17(11, for mutual support i iin-t England. In the latter compact the Bourbons Of Italy were included. FAMINE (OF.. Fr. famine, from Lat. fames, hunger). A general scarcity of food, due as a rule to the failure of crops, and marked by out- breaks of plague and an abnormal rate of mortality. In earlier history it seems to have played a larger part in the woes of mankind than al Ihe present time, though it has not yet been wholly obliterated. The isolation of com-