MIND IN EVOLUTION
By C. Lloyd Morgan
Professor Emeritus, Bristol University
Opinions differ as to what the word evolution means or should mean. Some writers speak, for example, of the evolution of atoms, molecules, crystals; of the solar system, the Alps, the Mediterranean Sea; of plants and animals; of social institutions; of scientific thought or artistic expression. For these writers the word evolution is unrestricted in its application. But other writers are of opinion that it is better to restrict the meaning of the word to what is spoken of as the doctrine of descent in living creatures, in other words, to that which, broadly speaking, falls under the head of the origin of species.
This question has been much discussed and a good deal has been said on both sides. But one must choose one or the other. I use the word in its unrestricted sense. Under this usage one can add appropriate adjectives to qualify the noun, such as cosmic, physical, chemical, organic, mental, and social evolution. That enables one to make clear what one means.
But if we adopt the unrestricted use of the noun to express a broad, comprehensive idea we must expressly state the particular phenomena that exemplify the idea we have in mind. We seek, then, to ascertain what holds good for all natural events in so far as the concept of evolution is exemplified in
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