darwin and modern science-第164节

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4。　　The　conception　of　the　history　of　man　as　a　causal　development　meant　the　elevation　of　historical　inquiry　to　the　dignity　of　a　science。　　Just　as　the　study　of　bees　cannot　become　scientific　so　long　as　the　student's　interest　in　them　is　only　to　procure　honey　or　to　derive　moral　lessons　from　the　labours　of　〃the　little　busy　bee；〃　so　the　history　of　human　societies　cannot　become　the　object　of　pure　scientific　investigation　so　long　as　man　estimates　its　value　in　pragmatical　scales。　　Nor　can　it　become　a　science　until　it　is　conceived　as　lying　entirely　within　a　sphere　in　which　the　law　of　cause　and　effect　has　unreserved　and　unrestricted　dominion。　　On　the　other　hand；　once　history　is　envisaged　as　a　causal　process；　which　contains　within　itself　the　explanation　of　the　development　of　man　from　his　primitive　state　to　the　point　which　he　has　reached；　such　a　process　necessarily　becomes　the　object　of　scientific　investigation　and　the　interest　in　it　is　scientific　curiosity。

At　the　same　time；　the　instruments　were　sharpened　and　refined。　　Here　Wolf；　a　philologist　with　historical　instinct；　was　a　pioneer。　　His　〃Prolegomena〃　to　Homer　（1795）　announced　new　modes　of　attack。　　Historical　investigation　was　soon　transformed　by　the　elaboration　of　new　methods。

5。　　〃Progress〃　involves　a　judgment　of　value；　which　is　not　involved　in　the　conception　of　history　as　a　genetic　process。　　It　is　also　an　idea　distinct　from　that　of　evolution。　　Nevertheless　it　is　closely　related　to　the　ideas　which　revolutionised　history　at　the　beginning　of　the　last　century；　it　swam　into　men's　ken　simultaneously；　and　it　helped　effectively　to　establish　the　notion　of　history　as　a　continuous　process　and　to　emphasise　the　significance　of　time。　　Passing　over　earlier　anticipations；　I　may　point　to　a　〃Discours〃　of　Turgot　（1750）；　where　history　is　presented　as　a　process　in　which　〃the　total　mass　of　the　human　race〃　〃marches　continually　though　sometimes　slowly　to　an　ever　increasing　perfection。〃　　That　is　a　clear　statement　of　the　conception　which　Turgot's　friend　Condorcet　elaborated　in　the　famous　work；　published　in　1795；　〃Esquisse　d'un　tableau　historique　des　progres　de　l'esprit　humain〃。　　This　work　first　treated　with　explicit　fulness　the　idea　to　which　a　leading　role　was　to　fall　in　the　ideology　of　the　nineteenth　century。　　Condorcet's　book　reflects　the　triumphs　of　the　Tiers　etat；　whose　growing　importance　had　also　inspired　Turgot；　it　was　the　political　changes　in　the　eighteenth　century　which　led　to　the　doctrine；　emphatically　formulated　by　Condorcet；　that　the　masses　are　the　most　important　element　in　the　historical　process。　　I　dwell　on　this　because；　though　Condorcet　had　no　idea　of　evolution；　the　pre…dominant　importance　of　the　masses　was　the　assumption　which　made　it　possible　to　apply　evolutional　principles　to　history。　　And　it　enabled　Condorcet　himself　to　maintain　that　the　history　of　civilisation；　a　progress　still　far　from　being　complete；　was　a　development　conditioned　by　general　laws。

6。　　The　assimilation　of　society　to　an　organism；　which　was　a　governing　notion　in　the　school　of　Savigny；　and　the　conception　of　progress；　combined　to　produce　the　idea　of　an　organic　development；　in　which　the　historian　has　to　determine　the　central　principle　or　leading　character。　　This　is　illustrated　by　the　apotheosis　of　democracy　in　Tocqueville's　〃Democratie　en　Amerique〃；　where　the　theory　is　maintained　that　〃the　gradual　and　progressive　development　of　equality　is　at　once　the　past　and　the　future　of　the　history　of　men。〃　　The　same　two　principles　are　combined　in　the　doctrine　of　Spencer　（who　held　that　society　is　an　organism；　though　he　also　contemplated　its　being　what　he　calls　a　〃super…organic　aggregate〃）　（A　society　presents　suggestive　analogies　with　an　organism；　but　it　certainly　is　not　an　organism；　and　sociologists　who　draw　inferences　from　the　assumption　of　its　organic　nature　must　fall　into　error。　　A　vital　organism　and　a　society　are　radically　distinguished　by　the　fact　that　the　individual　components　of　the　former；　namely　the　cells；　are　morphologically　as　well　as　functionally　differentiated；　whereas　the　individuals　which　compose　a　society　are　morphologically　homogeneous　and　only　functionally　differentiated。　　The　resemblances　and　the　differences　are　worked　out　in　E。　de　Majewski's　striking　book　〃La　Science　de　la　Civilisation〃；　Paris；　1908。）；　that　social　evolution　is　a　progressive　change　from　militarism　to　industrialism。

7。　the　idea　of　development　assumed　another　form　in　the　speculations　of　German　idealism。　　Hegel　conceived　the　successive　periods　of　history　as　corresponding　to　the　ascending　phases　or　ideas　in　the　self…evolution　of　his　Absolute　Being。　　His　〃Lectures　on　the　Philosophy　of　History〃　were　published　in　1837　after　his　death。　　His　philosophy　had　a　considerable　effect；　direct　and　indirect；　on　the　treatment　of　history　by　historians；　and　although　he　was　superficial　and　unscientific　himself　in　dealing　with　historical　phenomena；　he　contributed　much　towards　making　the　idea　of　historical　development　familiar。　　Ranke　was　influenced；　if　not　by　Hegel　himself；　at　least　by　the　Idealistic　philosophies　of　which　Hegel's　was　the　greatest。　　He　was　inclined　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　Desce