darwin and modern science-第185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！


ned　to　conceive　the　stages　in　the　process　of　history　as　marked　by　incarnations；　as　it　were；　of　ideas；　and　sometimes　speaks　as　if　the　ideas　were　independent　forces；　with　hands　and　feet。　　But　while　Hegel　determined　his　ideas　by　a　priori　logic；　Ranke　obtained　his　by　inductionby　a　strict　investigation　of　the　phenomena；　so　that　he　was　scientific　in　his　method　and　work；　and　was　influenced　by　Hegelian　prepossessions　only　in　the　kind　of　significance　which　he　was　disposed　to　ascribe　to　his　results。　　It　is　to　be　noted　that　the　theory　of　Hegel　implied　a　judgment　of　value；　the　movement　was　a　progress　towards　perfection。

8。　　In　France；　Comte　approached　the　subject　from　a　different　side；　and　exercised；　outside　Germany；　a　far　wider　influence　than　Hegel。　　The　4th　volume　of　his　〃Cours　de　philosophie　positive〃；　which　appeared　in　1839；　created　sociology　and　treated　history　as　a　part　of　this　new　science；　namely　as　〃social　dynamics。〃　　Comte　sought　the　key　for　unfolding　historical　development；　in　what　he　called　the　social…psychological　point　of　view；　and　he　worked　out　the　two　ideas　which　had　been　enunciated　by　Condorcet：　　that　the　historian's　attention　should　be　directed　not；　as　hitherto；　principally　to　eminent　individuals；　but　to　the　collective　behaviour　of　the　masses；　as　being　the　most　important　element　in　the　process；　and　that；　as　in　nature；　so　in　history；　there　are　general　laws；　necessary　and　constant；　which　condition　the　development。　　The　two　points　are　intimately　connected；　for　it　is　only　when　the　masses　are　moved　into　the　foreground　that　regularity；　uniformity；　and　law　can　be　conceived　as　applicable。　　To　determine　the　social…　psychological　laws　which　have　controlled　the　development　is；　according　to　Comte；　the　task　of　sociologists　and　historians。

9。　　The　hypothesis　of　general　laws　operative　in　history　was　carried　further　in　a　book　which　appeared　in　England　twenty　years　later　and　exercised　an　influence　in　Europe　far　beyond　its　intrinsic　merit；　Buckle's　〃History　of　Civilisation　in　England〃　（1857…61）。　　Buckle　owed　much　to　Comte；　and　followed　him；　or　rather　outdid　him；　in　regarding　intellect　as　the　most　important　factor　conditioning　the　upward　development　of　man；　so　that　progress；　according　to　him；　consisted　in　the　victory　of　the　intellectual　over　the　moral　laws。

10。　　The　tendency　of　Comte　and　Buckle　to　assimilate　history　to　the　sciences　of　nature　by　reducing　it　to　general　〃laws；〃　derived　stimulus　and　plausibility　from　the　vista　offered　by　the　study　of　statistics；　in　which　the　Belgian　Quetelet；　whose　book　〃Sur　l'homme〃　appeared　in　1835；　discerned　endless　possibilities。　　The　astonishing　uniformities　which　statistical　inquiry　disclosed　led　to　the　belief　that　it　was　only　a　question　of　collecting　a　sufficient　amount　of　statistical　material；　to　enable　us　to　predict　how　a　given　social　group　will　act　in　a　particular　case。　　Bourdeau；　a　disciple　of　this　school；　looks　forward　to　the　time　when　historical　science　will　become　entirely　quantitative。　　The　actions　of　prominent　individuals；　which　are　generally　considered　to　have　altered　or　determined　the　course　of　things；　are　obviously　not　amenable　to　statistical　computation　or　explicable　by　general　laws。　　Thinkers　like　Buckle　sought　to　minimise　their　importance　or　explain　them　away。

11。　　These　indications　may　suffice　to　show　that　the　new　efforts　to　interpret　history　which　marked　the　first　half　of　the　nineteenth　century　were　governed　by　conceptions　closely　related　to　those　which　were　current　in　the　field　of　natural　science　and　which　resulted　in　the　doctrine　of　evolution。　　The　genetic　principle；　progressive　development；　general　laws；　the　significance　of　time；　the　conception　of　society　as　an　organic　aggregate；　the　metaphysical　theory　of　history　as　the　self…evolution　of　spirit；all　these　ideas　show　that　historical　inquiry　had　been　advancing　independently　on　somewhat　parallel　lines　to　the　sciences　of　nature。　　It　was　necessary　to　bring　this　out　in　order　to　appreciate　the　influence　of　Darwinism。

12。　　In　the　course　of　the　dozen　years　which　elapsed　between　the　appearances　of　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　（observe　that　the　first　volume　of　Buckle's　work　was　published　just　two　years　before）　and　of　〃The　Descent　of　Man〃　（1871）；　the　hypothesis　of　Lamarck　that　man　is　the　co…descendant　with　other　species　of　some　lower　extinct　form　was　admitted　to　have　been　raised　to　the　rank　of　an　established　fact　by　most　thinkers　whose　brains　were　not　working　under　the　constraint　of　theological　authority。

One　important　effect　of　the　discovery　of　this　fact　（I　am　not　speaking　now　of　the　Darwinian　explanation）　was　to　assign　to　history　a　definite　place　in　the　coordinated　whole　of　knowledge；　and　relate　it　more　closely　to　other　sciences。　　It　had　indeed　a　defined　logical　place　in　systems　such　as　Hegel's　and　Comte's；　but　Darwinism　certified　its　standing　convincingly　and　without　more　ado。　　The　prevailing　doctrine　that　man　was　created　ex　abrupto　had　placed　history　in　an　isolated　position；　disconnected　with　the　sciences　of　nature。　　Anthropology；　which　deals　with　the　animal　anthropos；　now　comes　into　line　with　zoology；　and　brings　it　into　relation　with　history。　　（It　is　to　be　observed　that　history　is　（not　only　different　in　scope　but）　not　coextensive　with　anthropology　IN　TIME。　　For　it　deals　only　with　the　development　of　man　in　societies；　whereas　anthropology　includes　in　its　definition　the　proto…anthropic　period　when　anthropos　was　still　non…social；　whether　he　lived　in　herds　like　the　chimpanzee；　or　alone　like　the　male　ourang…outang。　　（It　has　been　well　shown　by　Majewski　that　congregations　herds；　flocks；　packs；　etc。of　animals　are　not　SOCIETIES；　the　characteristic　of　a　society　is　differentiation　of　function。　　Bee　hives；　ant　hills；　may　be　called　quasi…societies；　but　in　their　case　the　classes　which　perform　distinct　functions　are　morphologically　different。）　　Man's　condition　at　the　present　day　is　the　result　of　a　series　of　transformations；　going　back　to　the　most　primitive　phase　of　society；　which　is　the　ideal　（unattainable）　beginning　of　history。　　But　that　beginning　had　emerged　without　any　breach　of　continuity　from　a　development　which　carries　us　back　to　a　quadrimane　ancestor；　still　further　back　（according　to　Darwin's　conjecture）　to　a　marine　animal　of　the　ascidian　type；　and　then　through　remoter　periods　to　the　lowest　form　of　organism。　　It　is　essential　in　this　theory　that　though　links　have　been　lost　there　was　no　break　in　the　gradual　development；　and　this　conception　of　a　continuous　progress　in　the　evolution　of　life；　resulting　in　the　appearance　of　uncivilised　Anthropos；　helped　to　reinforce；　and　increase　a　belief　in；　the　conception　of　the　history　of　civilised　Anthropos　as　itself　also　a　continuous　progressive　development。

13。　　Thus　the　diffusion　of　the　Darwinian　theory　of　the　origin　of　man；　by　emphasising　the　idea　of　continuity　and　breaking　down　the　barriers　between　the　human　and　animal　kingdoms；　has　had　an　important　effect　in　establishing　the　position　of　history　among　the　sciences　which　deal　with　telluric　development。　　The　perspective　of　history　is　merged　in　a　larger　perspective　of　development。　　As　one　of　the　objects　of　biology　is　to　find　the　exact　steps　in　the　genealogy　of　man　from　the　lowest　organic　form；　so　the　scope　of　history　is　to　determine　the　stages　in　the　unique　causal　series　from　the　most　rudimentary　to　the　present　state　of　human　civilisation。

It　is　to　be　observed　that　the　interest　in　historical　research　implied　by　this　conception　need　not　be　that　of　Comte。　　In　the　Positive　Philosophy　history　is　part　of　sociology；　the　interest　in　it　is　to　discover　the　sociological　laws。　　In　the　view　of　which　I　have　just　spoken；　history　is　permitted　to　be　an　end　in　itself；　the　reconstruction　of　the　genetic　process　is　an　independent　interest。　　For　the　purpose　of　the　reconstruction；　sociology；　as　well　as　physical　geography；　biology；　psychology；　is　necessary；　the　sociologist　and　the　historian　play　into　each　other's　hands；　but　the　object　of　the　former　is　to　establish　generalisations；　the　aim　of　the　latter　is　to　trace　in　detail　a　singular　causal　sequence。

14。　　The　success　of　the　evolutional　theory　helped　to　discredit　the　assumption　or　at　least　the　invocation　of　transcendent　causes。　　Philosophically　of　course　it　is　compatible　with　theism；　but　historians　have　for　the　most　part　desi