darwin and modern science-第159章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　absolutely　adequate。　　But　he　seems　to　be　quite　sure　that　the　thing…in…　itself　works　constantly；　and　consequently　always　gives　us　only　what　our　powers　can　master。　　This　assumption　was　a　consequence　of　Kant's　rationalistic　tendency；　but　one　for　which　no　warrant　can　be　given。　　Evolutionism　and　systematism　are　opposing　tendencies　which　can　never　be　absolutely　harmonised　one　with　the　other。　　Evolution　may　at　any　time　break　some　form　which　the　system…monger　regards　as　finally　established。　　Darwin　himself　felt　a　great　difference　in　looking　at　variation　as　an　evolutionist　and　as　a　systematist。　　When　he　was　working　at　his　evolution　theory；　he　was　very　glad　to　find　variations；　but　they　were　a　hindrance　to　him　when　he　worked　as　a　systematist；　in　preparing　his　work　on　Cirripedia。　　He　says　in　a　letter：　　〃I　had　thought　the　same　parts　of　the　same　species　more　resemble　（than　they　do　anyhow　in　Cirripedia）　objects　cast　in　the　same　mould。　　Systematic　work　would　be　easy　were　it　not　for　this　confounded　variation；　which；　however；　is　pleasant　to　me　as　a　speculatist；　though　odious　to　me　as　a　systematist。〃　　（〃Life　and　Letters〃；　Vol。　II。　page　37。）　　He　could　indeed　be　angry　with　variations　even　as　an　evolutionist；　but　then　only　because　he　could　not　explain　them；　not　because　he　could　not　classify　them。　　〃If；　as　I　must　think；　external　conditions　produce　little　DIRECT　effect；　what　the　devil　determines　each　particular　variation？〃　　（Ibid。　page　232。）　　What　Darwin　experienced　in　his　particular　domain　holds　good　of　all　knowledge。　　All　knowledge　is　systematic；　in　so　far　as　it　strives　to　put　phenomena　in　quite　definite　relations；　one　to　another。　　But　the　systematisation　can　never　be　complete。　　And　here　Darwin　has　contributed　much　to　widen　the　world　for　us。　　He　has　shown　us　forces　and　tendencies　in　nature　which　make　absolute　systems　impossible；　at　the　same　time　that　they　give　us　new　objects　and　problems。　　There　is　still　a　place　for　what　Lessing　called　〃the　unceasing　striving　after　truth；〃　while　〃absolute　truth〃　（in　the　sense　of　a　closed　system）　is　unattainable　so　long　as　life　and　experience　are　going　on。

There　is　here　a　special　remark　to　be　made。　　As　we　have　seen　above；　recent　research　has　shown　that　natural　selection　or　struggle　for　life　is　no　explanation　of　variations。　　Hugo　de　Vries　distinguishes　between　partial　and　embryonal　variations；　or　between　variations　and　mutations；　only　the　last…　named　being　heritable；　and　therefore　of　importance　for　the　origin　of　new　species。　　But　the　existence　of　variations　is　not　only　of　interest　for　the　problem　of　the　origin　of　species；　it　has　also　a　more　general　interest。　　An　individual　does　not　lose　its　importance　for　knowledge；　because　its　qualities　are　not　heritable。　　On　the　contrary；　in　higher　beings　at　least；　individual　peculiarities　will　become　more　and　more　independent　objects　of　interest。　　Knowledge　takes　account　of　the　biographies　not　only　of　species；　but　also　of　individuals：　　it　seeks　to　find　the　law　of　development　of　the　single　individual。　　（The　new　science　of　Ecology　occupies　an　intermediate　position　between　the　biography　of　species　and　the　biography　of　individuals。　Compare　〃Congress　of　Arts　and　Science〃；　St　Louis；　Vol。　V。　1906　（the　Reports　of　Drude　and　Robinson）　and　the　work　of　my　colleague　E。　Warming。）　　As　Leibniz　said　long　ago；　individuality　consists　in　the　law　of　the　changes　of　a　being。　　〃La　loi　du　changement　fait　l'individualite　de　chaque　substance。〃　　Here　is　a　world　which　is　almost　new　for　science；　which　till　now　has　mainly　occupied　itself　with　general　laws　and　forms。　　But　these　are　ultimately　only　means　to　understand　the　individual　phenomena；　in　whose　nature　and　history　a　manifold　of　laws　and　forms　always　cooperate。　　The　importance　of　this　remark　will　appear　in　the　sequel。

V。

To　many　people　the　Darwinian　theory　of　natural　selection　or　struggle　for　existence　seemed　to　change　the　whole　conception　of　life；　and　particularly　all　the　conditions　on　which　the　validity　of　ethical　ideas　depends。　　If　only　that　has　persistence　which　can　be　adapted　to　a　given　condition；　what　will　then　be　the　fate　of　our　ideals；　of　our　standards　of　good　and　evil？　　Blind　force　seems　to　reign；　and　the　only　thing　that　counts　seems　to　be　the　most　heedless　use　of　power。　　Darwinism；　it　was　said；　has　proclaimed　brutality。　　No　other　difference　seems　permanent　save　that　between　the　sound；　powerful　and　happy　on　the　one　side；　the　sick；　feeble　and　unhappy　on　the　other；　and　every　attempt　to　alleviate　this　difference　seems　to　lead　to　general　enervation。　　Some　of　those　who　interpreted　Darwinism　in　this　manner　felt　an　aesthetic　delight　in　contemplating　the　heedlessness　and　energy　of　the　great　struggle　for　existence　and　anticipated　the　realisation　of　a　higher　human　type　as　the　outcome　of　it：　　so　Nietzsche　and　his　followers。　　Others　recognising　the　same　consequences　in　Darwinism　regarded　these　as　one　of　the　strongest　objections　against　it；　so　Duhring　and　Kropotkin　（in　his　earlier　works）。

This　interpretation　of　Darwinism　was　frequent　in　the　interval　between　the　two　main　works　of　Darwin〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　and　〃The　Descent　of　Man〃。　　But　even　during　this　interval　it　was　evident　to　an　attentive　reader　that　Darwin　himself　did　not　found　his　standard　of　good　and　evil　on　the　features　of　the　life　of　nature　he　had　emphasised　so　strongly。　　He　did　not　justify　the　ways　along　which　nature　reached　its　ends；　he　only　pointed　them　out。　　The　〃real〃　was　not　to　him；　as　to　Hegel；　one　with　the　〃rational。〃　　Darwin　has；　indeed；　by　his　whole　conception　of　nature；　rendered　a　great　service　to　ethics　in　making　the　difference　between　the　life　of　nature　and　the　ethical　life　appear　in　so　strong　a　light。　　The　ethical　problem　could　now　be　stated　in　a　sharper　form　than　before。　　But　this　was　not　the　first　time　that　the　idea　of　the　struggle　for　life　was　put　in　relation　to　the　ethical　problem。　　In　the　seventeenth　century　Thomas　Hobbes　gave　the　first　impulse　to　the　whole　modern　discussion　of　ethical　principles　in　his　theory　of　bellum　omnium　contra　omnes。　　Men；　he　taught；　are　in　the　state　of　nature　enemies　one　of　another；　and　they　live　either　in　fright　or　in　the　glory　of　power。　　But　it　was　not　the　opinion　of　Hobbes　that　this　made　ethics　impossible。　　On　the　contrary；　he　found　a　standard　for　virtue　and　vice　in　the　fact　that　some　qualities　and　actions　have　a　tendency　to　bring　us　out　of　the　state　of　war　and　to　secure　peace；　while　other　qualities　have　a　contrary　tendency。　　In　the　eighteenth　century　even　Immanuel　Kant's　ideal　ethics　hadso　far　as　can　be　seena　similar　origin。　　Shortly　before　the　foundation　of　his　definitive　ethics；　Kant　wrote　his　〃Idee　zu　einer　allgemeinen　Weltgeschichte〃　（1784）；　wherein　a　way　which　reminds　us　of　Hobbes；　and　is　prophetic　of　Darwinhe　describes　the　forward…driving　power　of　struggle　in　the　human　world。　　It　is　here　as　with　the　struggle　of　the　trees　for　light　and　air；　through　which　they　compete　with　one　another　in　height。　　Anxiety　about　war　can　only　be　allayed　by　an　ordinance　which　gives　everyone　his　full　liberty　under　acknowledgment　of　the　equal　liberty　of　others。　　And　such　ordinance　and　acknowledgment　are　also　attributes　of　the　content　of　the　moral　law；　as　Kant　proclaimed　it　in　the　year　after　the　publication　of　his　essay　（1785）　　（Cf。　my　〃History　of　Modern　Philosophy〃　（English　translation　London；　1900）；　I。　pages　76…79。）　　Kant　really　came　to　his　ethics　by　the　way　of　evolution；　though　he　afterwards　disavowed　it。　　Similarly　the　same　line　of　thought　may　be　traced　in　Hegel　though　it　has　been　disguised　in　the　form　of　speculative　dialectics。　　（〃Herrschaft　und　Knechtschaft〃；　〃Phanomenologie　des　Geistes〃；　IV。　A。；　Leiden；　1907。）　　And　in　Schopenhauer's　theory　of　the　blind　will　to　live　and　its　abrogation　by　the　ethical　feeling；　which　is　founded　on　universal　sympathy；　we　have　a　more　individualistic　form　of　the　same　idea。

It　was；　then；　not　entirely　a　foreign　point　of　view　which　Darwin　introduced　into　ethical　thought；　even　if　we　take　no　account　of　the　poetical　character　of　the　word　〃struggle〃　and　of　the　more　direct　adaptation；　through　the　use　and　non…use　of　power；　which　Darwin　also　emphasised。　　In　〃The　Descent　of　Man〃　he　has　devoted　a　special　chapter　（〃The　Descent　of　Man〃；　Vol。　I。　Ch。　iii。）　to　a　discussion　of　the　origin　of　the　ethical　consciousness。　　The　characteristic　expression　o