First Principles

第33章

Andasinthemulticellularplantssointhemulticellularanimals,alike

primarycontrastisforthwithrepeatedintheinitialclustersofcells。

Producedbytherepeatedfissionsoftheprimitivegerm—cell,eachsuchcluster

presentlyformsitselfintoahollowsphere:the"cleavagecavity"

beingmanifestlyhomologouswiththecavityoftheVilvox—sphere。*<*I

mayremarkinpassingthatintheonecase(andpossiblybyinheritancein

theother)thisformationofahollowsphereistheresultofthemorerapid

growthoftheouterpartsthantheinnerpartsofasolidgroup。Beingdependent

fornutritiononlightandcarbon—dioxideinthewater,theoutsidecomponents

ofaVolvox(eitherthecellsorthechlorophyllineachcell)haveagreat

advantageoverthecellsorportionsofcellswhicharemorecentrallyplaced;

anditneedsbuttoconsiderwhathappensiftheperipheryofasphereincreases

ataproportionatelygreaterratethanitscontentstoseethatitmusteither

leavethecontentsbehindordrawthemafteritandbecomehollow。Ananalogous

effectofexcessiveperipheralgrowthmayoccasionallybeseenexemptedwhen,

afteradryfitduringwhichpotatoeshavenotgrownmuch,therecomesrain

andarapidincreaseofbulk;thisbeingtheexplanationofthefactthat

inverylargepotatoesthereisnotuncommonlyasplitintheinterior,caused

bythestrainwhichthedisproportionategrowthoftheperipherynecessarily

causes。>InsimpletypesofMetazoa,asthehydroidpolyps,theblastula,

beingthusestablishedinconformitywiththeprimarycontrastofconditions,

therepresentlybeginsasecondarydifferentiationwhich,likethatwehave

seenintheVolvoxbutinamorepronouncedmanner,answerstothesecondary

contrastofconditions;forthissphericalassemblageofcellsbecomesovoid,

andbytheaidofitsciliamovesthroughthewaterbroadendforemost:the

lapsefromhomogeneityofformbeinginsomecasesmademorepronouncedby

theassumptionofasausage—shape。Simultaneouslythecomponentcellsof

thetwoendsbecomeunlikeincharacter。Afarmoremarkeddifferentiation,

orlapseintogreaterheterogeneity,isseenwhenthissingle—layeredspheroid

ofciliatedcellsischangedintoadouble—layeredspheroidbyintroversion

ofoneside:asackwiththemouthsewnupandthebottomthrustinasfar

asitwillgo,servingtoillustratetherelationsofparts。Henceresults

thegastrulawithitsectodermandendoderm;severallyplayingcontrasted

partsinsubsequentdevelopment。Sothatatsuccessivestagesthereisrepeated

thisriseofacontrastofstructuresansweringtoacontrastofconditions

——thatwhichoccursinthesimplecell,thatwhichoccursinthehollowsphereofsuchcells,andthatwhichoccursinthedouble—walledsphere。Illustrationspresentingthelawunderanotheraspect——onefromeach

organickingdom——areinstructive。TheciliatedgermorplanulaofaZoophyte

which,duringitslocomotivestage,isdistinguishableonlyintoouterand

innertissues,nosoonerbecomesfixedthanitsupperendbeginstoassume

adifferentstructurefromitslower。Thedisc—shapedgemmaeoftheMarchantia,

originallyalikeonbothsurfaces,andfallingatrandomwitheitherside

uppermost,immediatelybegintodeveloprootletsontheirundersidesand

stomataontheiruppersides:afactprovingbeyondquestion,thatthisprimarydifferentiationisdeterminedbythisfundamentalcontrastofconditions。Ofcourseinthegermsofhigherorganisms,themetamorphosesimmediately

duetotheinstabilityofthehomogeneous,aresoonmaskedbythosedueto

theassumptionofthehereditarytype。Evenintheearlystagesabovedescribed

therearetobetracedmodificationsthusoriginating。Evenbeforetheprimary

cell—multiplicationbegins,thereissaidtobeanobservabledistinction

betweenthetwopolesoftheegg—cell,foreshadowingthedifferentgerm—layers。

Ofcourseasdevelopmentprogressesassumptionofthetransmittedtypeof

structurequicklyobscurestheseprimarylapsesfromhomogeneity;though

forsometimethefundamentalrelationsofinnerandouterarerecognizable

inthedifferentiations。Butwhathasbeensaidsufficestoestablishthe

allegedgeneraltruth。Itisenoughthatincipientorganisms,settingout

fromrelativelyhomogeneousarrangements,forthwithbegintofallintorelatively

heterogeneousones。Itisenoughthatthemostconspicuousdifferentiations

whichtheydisplay,correspondtothemostmarkeddifferencesofconditions

towhichtheirpartsaresubject。Itisenoughthatthehabitualcontrast

betweenoutsideandinside,whichweknowisproducedininorganicmasses

byunlikenessofexposuretoincidentforces,isparalleledbythefirstcontrastwhichmakesitsappearanceinallorganicmasses。Itremainstopointoutthatintheassemblageoforganismsconstituting

aspecies,theprincipleenunciatedisnolesstraceable。Wehaveabundant

materialsfortheinductionthateachspecieswillnotremainuniform——

iseverbecomingtosomeextentmultiform;andthereisgroundforthededuction

thatthislapsefromhomogeneitytoheterogeneityiscausedbythesubjection

ofitsmemberstounlikecircumstances。Tendingevertospreadfromitsoriginal

habitatintoadjacenthabitats,eachspeciesmusthaveitsperipheralparts

subjecttosetsofforcesunlikethosetowhichitscentralpartsaresubject,

andsomusttendtohaveitsperipheralmembersmadedifferentfromitscentralmembers。§153。Amongmentalphenomenafullestablishmentoftheallegedlaw

wouldinvolveananalysistooextensivefortheoccasion。Toshowsatisfactorily

howstatesofconsciousness,relativelyhomogeneous,becomeheterogeneous

throughdifferencesinthechangeswroughtbydifferentexternalforces,

wouldrequireustotraceouttheorganizationofearlyexperiences。Withouthereattemptingthisitmustsufficetosetdowntheconclusionstobedrawn。Thedevelopmentofintelligenceis,underoneofitschiefaspects,a

classifyingoftheunlikethingspreviouslyconfoundedtogether——aformation

ofsub—classesandsub—sub—classes,untiltheonceconfusedaggregateof

objectsknown,isresolvedintoanaggregatewhichunitesgreatheterogeneity

amongitsmultipliedgroups,withcompletehomogeneityamongthemembers

ofeachgroup。Onfollowingthroughascendinggradesofcreatures,thegenesis

ofthatvaststructureofknowledgeacquiredbysight,weseethatinthe

firststage,whereeye—speckssufficeonlyfordiscriminatinglightfrom

darkness,therecanbenoclassificationsofobjectsseen,savethosebased

onthemannerinwhichlightisobstructed,andthedegreeinwhichitis

obstructed。Bysuchundevelopedvisualorgans,theshadowsperceivedwould

bemerelydistinguishedintothoseofthestationaryobjectswhichthecreature

passedduringitsownmovements,andthoseofthemovingobjectswhichcame

nearwhileitwasatrest;sothattheextremelygeneralclassificationof

visiblethingsintostationaryandmoving,wouldbetheearliestformed。

Akindredstepfollows。Whilethesimplesteyescannotdistinguishbetween

anobstructionoflightcausedbyasmallobjectcloseto,andanobstruction

causedbyalargeobjectatsomedistance,eyesalittlemoredevelopedcan

distinguishthem;whencemustresultavaguedifferentiationoftheclass

ofmovingobjectsintothenearerandthemoreremote。Furtherdevelopments

whichmakepossibleabetterestimationofdistancesbyadjustmentofthe

opticaxes,andthosewhich,throughenlargementandsubdivisionoftheretina,

makepossiblethediscriminationofshapes,mustgivegreaterdefiniteness

totheclassesalreadyformed,andsubdividetheseintosmallerclasses,

consistingofobjectslessunlike。Ineveryinfantmaybetracedtheanalogous

transformationofaconfusedaggregateofimpressionsofsurroundingthings,

notrecognizedasdifferingintheirdistances,sizes,andshapes,intoseparate

classesofthingsunlikeoneanotherintheseandvariousotherrespects。

Andinbothcasesthechangefromthisfirstindefinite,incoherent,and

comparativelyhomogeneousconsciousness,toadefinite,coherent,andheterogeneous

one,isduetodifferencesintheactionsofincidentforcesontheorganism。

Thesebriefindicationsmustsuffice。Probablytheywillgiveadequateclue

toanargumentbywhicheachreadermaysatisfyhimselfthatthecourseof

mentalevolutionoffersnoexceptiontothegenerallaw。Infurtheraidof

suchanargument,Iwillhereaddanillustrationwhichiscomprehensibleapartfromtheprocessofmentalevolutionasawhole。Ithasbeenremarked(IamtoldbyColeridge)thatwiththeadvanceof

language,wordswhichwereoriginallyalikeintheirmeaningsacquireunlike

meanings——achangeheexpressedbytheformidableword"de—synonymization。"

Amongindigenouswordsthislossofequivalencecannotbeclearlyshown;

becauseinthemthedivergencesofmeaningbeganbeforethedawnofliterature。

Butamongwordsthathavebeencoined,oradoptedfromotherlanguages,since

thewritingofbookscommenced,itisdemonstrable。Bytheolddivines,miscreant

wasusedinitsetymologicalsenseofunbeliever;butinmodernspeechit

hasentirelylostthissense。Similarlywithevil—doerandmalefactor。Exactly

synonymousasthesearebyderivation,theyarenolongersynonymousbyusage。

Byamalefactorwenowunderstandaconvictedcriminal,whichisfarfrom

beingtheacceptationofevil—doer。TheverbproducebearsinEuclidits

primarymeaning——toprolongordrawout;butthenowlargely—developed

meaningsofproduce,havelittleincommonwiththemeaningsofprolong,

ordrawout。IntheChurchofEnglandliturgyanoddeffectnowresultsfrom

theoccurrenceofpreventinitsoriginalsense——tocomebefore,instead

ofitsmodernspecializedsense——tocomebeforewiththeeffectofarresting。

Butthemostconclusivecasesarethoseinwhichthecontrastedwordsconsist

ofthesamepartsdifferentlycombined,asingounderandundergo。Wego

underatree,andweundergoapain。Butthough,ifanalyticallyconsidered,

themeaningswouldbethesamewerethewordstransposed,habithassofar

modifiedtheirmeaningsthatwecouldnotwithoutabsurdityspeakofundergoing

atreeandgoingunderapain。Manysuchinstancesshowthatbetweentwo

wordswhichareoriginallyoflikeforce,anequilibriumcannotbemaintained。

Unlesstheyaredailyusedinexactlyequaldegrees,inexactlysimilarrelations

(whichisinfinitelyimprobable),therenecessarilyariesahabitofassociating

oneratherthantheotherwithparticularacts,orobjects。Suchahabit

oncecommenced,becomesconfirmed;andgraduallytheirhomogeneityofmeaningdisappears。Shouldanydifficultybefeltinunderstandinghowthesementalchanges

exemplifyalawofphysicaltransformationsthatarewroughtbyphysical

forces,itwilldisappearoncontemplatingactsofmindasnervousfunctions。

Itwillbeseenthateachlossofequilibriumaboveinstanced,isaloss

offunctionalequalitybetweensometwoelementsofthenervoussystem。And

itwillbeseenthat,asinothercases,thislossoffunctionalequalityisduetodifferencesintheincidenceofforces。§154。Massesofmen,incommonwithallothermasses,showalike

proclivitysimilarlycaused。Smallcombinationsandlargesocietiesequally

manifestit;andintheone,asintheother,bothgovernmentalandindustrial

differentiationsareinitiatedbyit。Letusglanceatthefactsundertheseheads。Abusiness—partnership,balancedastheauthoritiesofitsmembersmay

theoreticallybe,presentlybecomesaunioninwhichtheauthorityofone

partneristacitlyrecognizedasgreaterthanthatoftheotherorothers。

Thoughtheshareholdershavegivenequalpowerstothedirectorsoftheir

company,inequalitiesofpowersoonariseamongthem;andoftenthesupremacy

ofsomeonedirectorgrowssomarked,thathisdecisionsdeterminethecourse

whichtheboardtakes。Norinassociationsforpolitical,charitable,literary,

orotherpurposes,dowefailtofindalikeprocessofdivisionintodominant

andsubordinateparties;eachhavingitsleader,itsmembersoflessinfluence,

anditsmassofuninfluentialmembers。Theseminorinstancesinwhichunorganized

groupsofmen,standinginhomogeneousrelations,maybewatchedgradually

passingintoorganizedgroupsofmenstandinginheterogeneousrelations,

giveuskeytosocialinequalities。Barbarousandcivilizedcommunitiesare

alikecharacterizedbyseparationintoclasses,aswellasbyseparation

ofeachclassintomoreimportantandlessimportantunits;andthisstructure

isthegradually—consolidatedresultofaprocesslikethatdailyexemplified

intradingandothercombinations。Solongasmenareconstitutedtoact

ononeanother,eitherbyphysicalforceorbyforceofcharacterthestruggles

forsupremacymustfinallybedecidedinfavourofsomeclassorsomeone;

andthedifferenceoncecommencedmusttendtobecomeevermoremarked。Its

unstableequilibriumbeingdestroyed,theuniformmustgravitatewithincreasing

rapidityintothemultiform。Andsosupremacyandsubordinationmustestablish

themselves,asweseetheydo,throughoutthewholestructureofasociety,

fromthegreatclass—divisionspervadingitsentirebody,downtovillage

cliques,andevendowntoeveryposseofschoolboys。Probablyitwillbe

objectedthatsuchchangesresult,notfromthehomogeneityoftheoriginal

aggregations,butfromtheirnon—homogeneity——fromcertainslightdifferences

existingamongtheirunitsattheoutset。Thisisdoubtlesstheproximate

cause。Instrictness,suchchangesmustberegardedastransformationsof

therelativelyhomogeneousintotherelativelyheterogeneous。Butanaggregation

ofmenabsolutelyalikeintheirendowments,wouldeventuallyundergoasimilar

transformation。Forintheabsenceofuniformityinthelivesseverallyled

bythem——intheiroccupations,physicalconditions,domesticrelations,

andtrainsofthoughtandfeeling——theremustarisedifferencesamongthem;

andthesemusteventuallyinitiatesocialdifferentiations。Eveninequalities

ofhealthcausedbyaccidentswill,byentailinginequalitiesofphysical

andmentalpower,disturbtheexactbalanceofmutualinfluencesamongtheunits;andthebalanceoncedisturbed,willinevitablybelost。Turningtotheindustrialorganization,andnotingthatitsdivisioninto

regulativeandoperativeisprimarilydetermined,likethepreceeding,by

differencesofpower(womenandslavesbeingthefirstworkingclasses);

admitting,too,thatevenamongsavagessomesmallspecializationsarise

fromindividualaptitudes;wegoontoobservethatthelargeindustrial

divisionsintowhichsocietiesgravitate,areduetounlikenessesofexternal

circumstances。Suchdivisionsareabsentuntilsuchunlikenessesareestablished。

Nomadictribesdonotpermanentlyexposeanygroupsoftheirmemberstospecial

localconditions;nordoesastationarytribe,whenoccupyingonlyasmall

area,maintainfromgenerationtogenerationmarkedcontrastsinthelocal

conditionsofitsmembers;andinsuchtribestherearenodecidedeconomic

differentiations。Butacommunitywhich,byconquest,orotherwise,hasoverspread

alargetract,andhasbecomesofarsettledthatitsmembersliveanddie

intheirrespectivedistricts,keepsitsseveralsectionsindifferentcircumstances;

andthentheynolongerremainalikeintheiroccupations。Thosewholive

dispersedcontinuetohuntorcultivatetheearth;thosewhospreadtothe

sea—shorefallintomaritimeoccupations;whiletheinhabitantsofsomespot

chosen,perhapsforitscentrality,asoneofperiodicassemblage,become

traders,andatownspringsup。Intheadaptationsofthesesocialunits

totheirrespectivefunctions,weseeaprogressfromuniformitytomultiformity

causedbyunlikeincidenceofforces。Laterintheprocessofsocialevolution

theselocaladaptationsaregreatlymultiplied。Differencesinsoilandclimate,

causetheruralinhabitantsindifferentpartsofthekingdomtohavetheir

occupationspartiallyspecialized,andtobecomeknownaschieflyproducing

cattle,orsheep,orwheat,oroats,orhops,orfruit。Peoplelivingwhere

coal—fieldsarediscoveredaretransformedintocolliers;Cornishmentake

tominingbecauseCornwallismetalliferous;andiron—manufactureisthe

dominantindustrywhereiron—stoneisplentiful。Liverpoolhastakentoimporting

cotton,becauseofitsproximitytothedistrictwherecotton—goodsaremade;

andforanalogousreasonsHullhasbecomethechiefportatwhichforeign

woolsarebroughtin。Thusingeneralandindetail,industrialheterogeneities

ofthesocialorganismprimarydependonlocalinfluences。Thosedivisions

oflabourwhich,underanotheraspect,wereinterpretedasduetothesetting

upofmotioninthedirectionsofleastresistance(§80),arehereinterpreted

asduetodifferencesintheincidentforces;andthetwointerpretations

arequiteconsistentwitheachother。Forthatwhichineachdeterminesthe

directionofleastresistance,isthedistributionoftheforcestobeovercome;

andhenceunlikenessesofdistributioninseparatelocalities,entailsunlikenessesinthelinesofhumanactionsinthoselocalities——entailsindustrialdifferentiations。§155。Ithasstilltobeshownthatthisgeneraltruthisdemonstrable

apriori——thattheinstabilityofthehomogeneousisacorollaryfromthe

persistenceofforce。Alreadythishasbeentacitlyimplied,buthereitwillbepropertoexpandthetacitimplicationintodefiniteproof。Onstrikingamassofmatterwithsuchforceaseithertoindentitor

makeitflytopieces,weseeboththattheblowaffectsdifferentlyits

differentparts,andthatthedifferencesareconsequentontheunlikerelations

ofitspartstotheforceimpressed。Thepartstruckisdrivenintowards

thecentreofthemass。Itthuscompresses,andtendstodisplace,themore

centrallysituatedportions。These,however,cannotbecompressedorthrust

outoftheirplaceswithoutpressingonsurroundingportions。Andwhenthe

blowisviolentenoughtofracturethemass,wesee,intheradialdispersion

ofthefragments,thattheoriginalmomentumhasbeendividedintonumerous

minormomenta,unlikeintheirdirections。Weseethatthepartsaredifferently

affectedbythedisruptiveforce,becausetheyaredifferentlyrelatedto

itintheirdirectionsandattachments——thattheeffectsbeingthejoint

productsoftheforceandtheconditionscannotbealikeinpartswhichare

differentlyconditioned。Abodyonwhichradiantheatisfalling,exemplifies

thistruthstillmoreclearly。Takethesimplestcase——thatofasphere。

Whilethepartnearesttotheradiatingcentrereceivestheraysatright

angles,theraysstriketheotherpartsoftheexposedsideatallangles

from90°downto0°。Themolecularvibrationspropagatedthrough

themassfromthesurfacewhichreceivestheheat,proceedinwardsatangles

differingforeachpoint。Further,theinteriorpartsreachedbythevibrations

proceedingfromallpointsoftheheatedside,mustbedissimilarlyaffected

inproportionastheirpositionsaredissimilar。Sothatwhethertheybe

ontherecipientarea,inthemiddle,orattheremoteside,theconstituentmoleculesarethrownintostatesofvibrationmoreorlessunlikeoneanother。Butnow,whatistheultimatemeaningoftheconclusionthataforceproduces

differentchangesthroughoutauniformmass,becausethepartsofthemass

standindifferentrelationstotheforce?Fullytounderstandthis,wemust

contemplateeachpartassimultaneouslysubjecttootherforces——those

ofgravitation,ofcohesion,molecularmotion,etc。Theeffectwroughtby

anadditionalforce,mustbearesultantofitandtheforcesalreadyin

action。Iftheforcesalreadyinactionontwopartsofanyaggregate,are

differentintheirresultantdirections,theeffectsproducedonthesetwo

partsbyequaladditionalforcesmustbedifferentintheirdirections。Why

musttheybedifferent?Becausesuchunlikenessasexistsbetweenthetwo

setsoffactors,ismadebythepresenceintheoneofsomespecially—directed

forcethatisnotpresentintheother;andthatthisforcewillproduce

aneffect,renderingthetotalresultintheonecaseunlikethatinthe

other,isanecessarycorollaryfromthepersistenceofforce。Stillmore

manifestdoesitbecomethatthedissimilarly—placedpartsofanyaggregate

mustbedissimilarlymodifiedbyanincidentforce,whenwerememberthat

thequantitiesoftheincidentforcetowhichtheyareseverallysubject,

arenotequal,asabovesupposed,butarenearlyalwaysunequal。Lookagain

attheaboveexamples。Theamountsofanyexternalradiantforcewhichthe

differentpartsofanaggregatereceive,arewidelycontrasted:wehavethe

contrastbetweenthequantityfallingonthesidenexttheradiatingcentre,

andthequantity,orrathernoquantity,fallingontheoppositeside;we

havecontrastsinthequantitiesreceivedbydifferently—placedareason

theexposedside;andwehaveendlesscontrastsbetweenthequantitiesreceived

bythevariouspartsoftheinterior。Similarlywhenmechanicalforceis

expendedonanyaggregate,eitherbycollision,continuedpressure,ortension,

theamountsofstraindistributedthroughoutthemassaremanifestlyunlike

forunlikepositions。Anditisobviousthatordinarychemicalactionaffects

surfacemorethancentre,andoftenonepartofthesurfacemorethananother。

Buttosaythedifferentpartsofanaggregatereceivedifferentquantities

ofanyforcecapableofchangingthem,istosaythatiftheywerebefore

homogeneoustheymustberenderedtoaproportionateextentheterogeneous;

since,forcebeingpersistent,thedifferentquantitiesofitfallingon

thedifferentparts,mustworkinthemdifferentquantitiesofeffect—different

changes。Yetonemorekindreddeductionisrequiredtocompletetheargument。

Evenapartfromtheactionofanyexternalforce,theequilibriumofahomogeneous

aggregatemustbedestroyedbytheunequalactionsofitspartsononeanother。

Thatmutualinfluencewhichproducesaggregation(nottomentionothermutual

influences)mustworkdifferenteffectsonthedifferentparts;sincethey

areseverallyexposedtoitinunlikeamountsanddirections。Thiswillbe

clearlyseenonrememberingthattheportionsofwhichthewholeismade

up,maybeseverallyregardedasminorwholes;thatoneachoftheseminor

wholes,theactionoftheentireaggregatethenbecomesanexternalincident

force;thatsuchexternalincidentforcemust,asaboveshown,workunlike

changesinthepartsofanysuchminorwhole;andthatiftheminorwholes

areseverallythusrenderedheterogeneous,theentireaggregateisrenderedheterogeneous。Theinstabilityofthehomogeneousisthusdeduciblefromthatprimordial

truthwhichunderliesourintelligence。Onestablehomogeneityonly,ishypothetically

possible。Ifcentresofforce,absolutelyuniformintheirpowers,werediffused

withabsoluteuniformitythroughunlimitedspace,theywouldremaininequilibrium。

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