Page:W. H. Chamberlin 1919, The Study of Philosophy.djvu/27

Rh fact, a basis for the achievement of new interests. But the eye, the hand, and the entire body, had their genesis in the efforts put forth by the lesser spiritual realities to grow through the creation of new interests upon the basis of the old ones.

REFERENCES.

McDougall, Mind and Body, pp. 377-9. Bergson, Creative Evolution, chapter 1. Cope, The Primary Factors of Organic Evolution. Darwin, The Origin of Species. Johnson, God in Evolution. Kellogg, Darwinism Today. Le Conte, Evolution in its Relation to Religious Thought. Packard, Lamarck, His Life and Work. Shaler, The Interpretation of Nature. De Vries, “Die Mutation Theorie.”

As a new organic form or species is thus a condensed record of a vast number of stages of growth through the tentative discovery of new inventions, new structures, so the condensed statement of the outcome of the interests correlated with the advancing organic structures is to be found in instincts. These instincts, the outcome of ages of struggles on the part of lesser spiritual realities to satisfy their needs must be accepted as the obvious, the understood basis for any efforts to further study the nature of our interests, our lives, for all of our interests grow out of them and are but an expansion of them.

But the lesser spiritual realities as they grew in this instinctive life were always in an automatic interaction with the interests of the higher spiritual reality and have always depended upon the energies of this spiritual reality. Also the higher spiritual reality, responding thus automatically to the growing interests of lesser beings, could become conscious of these responses, as a man can turn attention to such words as “and,” “house,” “rock,” etc., words long used unconsciously. Able to give attention to its automatic reactions to the interests and needs of the lesser realities, the higher reality could note the bearings of these reactions on the lesser lives and begin to use its reactions as a means of furthering new interests growing up within itself by either increasing or withdrawing that element of its life which was supporting the interests of the lesser lives. In this way instincts at the same time they were fulfilling the interests of the lesser realities could be made to achieve the ends of the higher spiritual reality.