From Mr. Darwin’s reasoning it is evident that he regards association as the basic principle underlying2 progress. He also thinks that combination is impossible without sympathy or a desire for the welfare of others outside of self. He is certain that associated animals have a feeling of affection for the group and that “they sympathize with one another in times of distress3 and danger.”41
This writer thinks that an animal like the gorilla4, which possessing great size and strength is able to defend itself against all its enemies, would not become social and therefore would be unable to advance. And this too, notwithstanding the fact that such an animal has already developed pug64nacity, courage, and perseverance5, the characters which are regarded as the source of the remarkable6 mental endowment of man.
We have seen that the greater size of the male is the result of Sexual Selection and is therefore a secondary sexual character. “All the secondary sexual characters of man are highly variable.”42 In dealing7 with this subject we must not lose sight of the fact that variability denotes low organization. It shows that the organs of the body have not become specialized8 to perform their legitimate9 functions.
Among monogamous animals difference in size between the sexes is slight, but among polygamous species the male is considerably10 larger than the female, this difference being correlated with numerous variations of structure.
Among early races males were considerably in excess of females so it was customary for the former to fight desperately11 to win the favour of the latter in much the same manner as their animal progenitors12 had fought to secure their mates. These struggles were enacted13 in the presence of the females, they always choosing the strongest and best endowed leaving the weaker and uglier members of the group unmated and therefore unable to propagate their misfortunes. This exercise of choice by the female in pairing is the primary fact in the history of human progress. The appalling14 effects of the withdrawal15 from women of65 this fundamental prerogative16 will be referred to later in these pages.
That pugnacity17, courage, and perseverance are the result of man’s strong sexual nature is shown wherever this subject is touched upon in The Descent of Man. Special attention is directed to the fact that eunuchs are deficient18 in these qualities.
That the greater size and strength of the male, together with courage, pugnacity, and perseverance, have been of great value to him in deciding the contests between rivals in courtship is quite true. It is clear, however, that these characters are in no wise responsible for the origin and development of the higher faculties19. Even Mr. Darwin’s premises20, when carried to their legitimate conclusions, furnish sufficient evidence to prove that the social instincts and the moral sense have been developed quite independently of these characters.
According to the reasoning of the savants it is only through that specialization of organs which has resulted in the separation of the sex elements, and the consequent division of functions, that the social instincts have originated, and that it is to processes involved in such specialization, or differentiation21, that the higher faculties and the moral sense have arisen. It is indeed plain from their reasoning that matter, or perhaps I should say the force inherent in matter, had to be raised to a certain dynamic order before the peculiar22 quality of brain and nerve necessary for the development66 of these faculties could be manifested through it.
As there are different kinds of matter, so there are different modes of force, in the universe; and as we rise from the common physical matter in which physical laws hold sway up to chemical matter and chemical forces, and from chemical matter again up to living matter and its modes of force, so do we rise in the scale of life from the lowest kind of living matter with its corresponding force or energy, through different kinds of histological elements, with their corresponding energies or functions, up to the highest kind of living matter and corresponding mode of force with which we are acquainted, viz., nerve element and nerve force. But, when we have got to nerve element and nerve force, it behooves23 us not to rest content with the general idea, but to trace, with attentive24 discrimination, through the nervous system the different kinds of nervous cells, and their different manifestations25 of energy. So also shall we obtain the groundwork for a true conception of the relations of mind and the nervous system.43
We have seen that the nervous system not only regulates most of the existing functions of the body, but that it has indirectly26 influenced the development of various bodily structures and certain mental qualities, and that these powers of mind depend on the development of the brain.
By our guides in this matter, we are assured that the most important difference observed between67 man and the lower animals is the conscience; hence, if we would understand how it has been possible for man to rise to his present position, we must know something of the processes involved in the development of the social instincts, through which have originated conscience and a desire for the welfare of others outside of self. The importance of these instincts in the development of conscience is thus set forth27 by Mr. Darwin:
Any animal whatever, endowed with well-marked social instincts, the parental28 and filial affections being here included, would inevitably29 acquire a moral sense or conscience, as soon as its intellectual faculties had become as well, or nearly as well, developed as in man.
Sympathy, we are told, is the foundation-stone of the social instincts. From facts which are everywhere presented among the forms of life below man, it is evident that sympathy was developed at an early stage of animal life. It is doubtless strongly manifested in our ape-like progenitors, and it was probably this instinct which subsequently led to a community of interest and the coherence32 of the tribe.
In a consideration, therefore, of this question of sex development and the origin of the progressive principle, if, as we are assured, sympathy constitutes the foundation-stone of the social instincts, and if it is to these instincts that we are to look for the origin of the moral sense, or conscience68— a faculty33 which constitutes the fundamental difference between the human species and the lower orders of life—the question naturally arises: In which of the two diverging34 lines of sexual demarcation has arisen sympathy, or an interest in the well-being35 of others? For an answer to our question we must look carefully to the facts connected with the development of the sexes within one of which have been acquired characters tending toward the welfare of society, or of individuals outside of self; within the other, characters looking only toward selfish gratification. Within the former, the maternal36 instinct predominates; within the latter, passion.
Mr. Darwin admits that “parental and filial affection lies at the base of the social instincts,” and gives as his opinion that this quality is the result of Natural Selection—that those individuals which bestowed38 upon their offspring the greatest care and attention, would survive and multiply at the expense of others in which this instinct was less developed. Therefore, in pursuing the inquiry39 of sex-function and sex-development, a question of considerable significance is at this point suggested: Within which parent is observed the greater tendency to bestow37 care and attention upon offspring?
We are assured that “the animal family is especially maternal.” So soon as a female bird has laid her eggs, she is animated40 only by one desire; neither the promise of abundant food nor69 the fear of bullets is able to divert her purpose. Although the males among the more highly developed birds assist in rearing the family, amongst various species it is only the female which cares for the young. The male duck has no interest in his progeny41, neither has the male eider. Of the male turkeys Mr. Letourneau says that they
do much worse: they often devour42 the eggs of their females, and thus oblige the latter to hide them. Female turkeys join each other with their young ones for greater security, and thus form troops of from sixty to eighty individuals, led by the mothers, and carefully avoiding the old males, who rush on the young ones and kill them by violent blows on the head with their beaks43.44
The males of various other species, jealous of the attentions of the mothers during the time that their efforts are directed toward the maintenance of their brood, often kill their young. Regarding the subject of paternal44 care, Mr. Letourneau observes: “It is important to notice that amongst birds, the fathers devoid45 of affection generally belong to the less intelligent, and are most often polygamous.”
By observing the habits of cuckoos the fact has been ascertained46 that among them the maternal instinct is almost entirely47 lacking. Of the cuckoo it has been remarked that it is a70 “discontented, ill-conditioned, passionate48, in short, decidedly unamiable bird.” Its note is typical of its habits and character.
The same abruptness49, insatiability, eagerness, the same rage, are noticeable in its whole conduct. The cuckoos are notoriously unsociable, even in migration50 individualistic. They jealously guard their territorial51 “preserves,” and verify in many ways the old myth that they are sparrow-hawks in disguise. The parasitic52 habit is consonant53 with their general character.
The species consist predominantly of males. The preponderance is probably about five to one; though one observer makes it five times greater. In so male a species, it is not surprising to find degenerate54 maternal instincts.45
Regarding spiders and the greater number of insects, we are told that the males entirely neglect their young; it is
in the female that the care for offspring first awakens55. And this is natural, for the eggs have been formed in her body; she has laid them, and has been conscious of them; they form, in a way, an integral part of her individuality.... With insects maternal forethought sometimes amounts to a sort of divining prescience which the doctrine56 of evolution alone can explain.46
Among the males of mammals below man the love of offspring seems to be almost entirely wanting.
71
We must here remark, that whatever the form of sexual association among mammals, the male has always much less affection for his young than the female. Even in monogamous species, when the male keeps with the female, he does so more as chief than as father. At times he is inclined to commit infanticide and to destroy the offspring, which, by absorbing all the attention of his female, thwart57 his amours. Thus, among the large felines58, the mother is obliged to hide her young ones from the male during the first few days after birth, to prevent his devouring59 them.47
The fact is obvious that among the orders of life below man but little paternal affection has been developed, and with a more extended knowledge of the past history of the human race comes the assurance that under earlier conditions of society, and in fact, until a comparatively recent time, little notice was taken of the paternal relation—that kinship and all the rights of succession were reckoned through the mother. In other words, motherhood was the primary bond by which society was bound together.
Although under higher conditions of civilized60 life, males have at length come to manifest much interest in the well-being of their offspring, yet that paternal affection is not a primary instinct is shown by the fact that such interest, even at the present time, extends only to those individuals born in wedlock61. Men are solicitous62 only for the72 welfare of those who are to succeed to their names and fortunes; hence, although in later times the paternal instinct has been considerably re-enforced, it is plain that the interest of fathers for their offspring has in the past been largely the result of custom, association, pride, desire for self-perpetuation or duplication, or some other form of self-aggrandizement.
Mr. Darwin says: “The feeling of pleasure from society is probably an extension of the parental or filial affections, since the social instinct seems to be developed by the young remaining for a long time with their parents.”48 Although Mr. Darwin does not admit it, from his reasoning it is plain that the maternal instinct is the root whence sympathy has sprung, and that it is the source whence the cohesive63 quality in the tribe originated. Regarding the importance of association or combination in early groups Mr. Darwin remarks:
When two tribes of primeval man, living in the same country, came into competition, if (other circumstances being equal) the one tribe included a great number of courageous64, sympathetic, and faithful members, who were always ready to warn each other of danger, to aid and defend each other, this tribe would succeed better and conquer the other.... Selfish and contentious65 people will not cohere31, and without coherence nothing can be effected. A tribe rich in the above qualities would spread and be victorious73 over other tribes.... Thus the social and moral qualities would tend slowly to advance and be diffused66 throughout the world.49
Since, then, it has been proved by scientists that without an association of interests and the coherence of the tribe the social instincts must have remained weak, and since it has been shown by them that without concerted action the higher faculties, including the moral sense, could not have been developed; and since, furthermore, the influences which have led to this development are those growing out of the maternal instincts, may we not conclude that all of those qualities which make man pre-eminently a social animal—his love of society, his desire for the good-will of his kind, his perception of right and wrong, and, finally, that sympathy which at last gradually extending beyond the limits of race and country proclaims the brotherhood67 of man and the unity30 of life on the earth—all these characteristics, are but an extension of maternal affection, an outgrowth of that early bond between mother and child, which, while affecting the entire line of development, still remains68 unchanged and unchangeable.
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1
dependence
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| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
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underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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3
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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gorilla
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| n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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6
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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8
specialized
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| adj.专门的，专业化的 | |
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9
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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10
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本 | |
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13
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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15
withdrawal
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| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
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16
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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pugnacity
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| n.好斗，好战 | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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21
differentiation
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| n.区别，区分 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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behooves
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| n.利益，好处( behoof的名词复数 )v.适宜( behoove的第三人称单数 ) | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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parental
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| adj.父母的；父的；母的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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30
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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31
cohere
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| vt.附着，连贯，一致 | |
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32
coherence
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| n.紧凑；连贯；一致性 | |
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33
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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34
diverging
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| 分开( diverge的现在分词 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳 | |
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35
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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36
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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40
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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41
progeny
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| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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42
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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43
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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44
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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45
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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46
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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48
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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49
abruptness
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| n. 突然，唐突 | |
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50
migration
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| n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙 | |
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51
territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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52
parasitic
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| adj.寄生的 | |
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53
consonant
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| n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的 | |
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54
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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55
awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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56
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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57
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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58
felines
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| n.猫科动物( feline的名词复数 ) | |
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59
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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60
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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61
wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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62
solicitous
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| adj.热切的，挂念的 | |
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63
cohesive
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| adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的 | |
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64
courageous
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| adj.勇敢的，有胆量的 | |
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65
contentious
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| adj.好辩的，善争吵的 | |
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66
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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67
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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68
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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