Survival
of the Fittest
HUMANITY is a
dynamic affair, nay, the most dynamic known, because it is able
to transform and direct basic powers. Where power is produced
there must be an issue for it. Power must perforce express itself
in some form. Electricity produced in the skies comes down in
an often disastrous manner. Electricity, produced aimfully,
runs our railroads; just so the enormous power produced by humanity
must be used aimfully, in a constructive way or it will burst
into insurrections, revolutions and wars.
Hitherto we have
been guided by those bottomless sciences having only mythological
ideas of power-by ideas moulded by personal ambitions, personal
interests, or downright ignorance. Periodically we have had
all the evils of the lack of a common aim and scientific guidance.
Power has been held by the "God-given" or the "cleverest"; seldom
has the power been given to the "fittest" in the sense of the
most capable "to do." Those who speak of the "survival of the
fittest," as in the Darwinian theory of animals, bark an animal
language. This rule, being natural only in the life of plants
and animals and appropriate only to the lower forms of physical
life, cannot, except with profound change of meaning, be applied
to the time-binding class of life, without disaster.
The modern vast
accumulation of wealth for private purposes, justifies itself
by using the argument of the "survival of the fittest." Very
well, where there is a "survival," there must be victims; where
there are victims, there has been fighting. Is this what the
users of this argument mean? Like the Kaiser, they talk peace
and make war. This method of doing things is not in any way
new. The world has been accustomed to it for a very long while.
Personally I believe
that most of the masters of speculative semi-sciences, such
as economics, law, ethics, politics and government are honest
in their beliefs and speculations. Simply the right man believes
in the wrong thing; if shown the right way out of the mess he
will cease to hamper progress; he will be of the greatest value
to the new world built by Human Engineers, where human capacities,
exponential functions of time, will operate naturally; where
economy, law, ethics, politics and government will be dynamic,
not static. There is a world of difference between these
two words.
The immediate
object of this writing is to show the way to directing the time-binding
powers of mankind for the benefit of all. Human technology,
as an art and science, does not yet exist; some basic principles
were required as a foundation for such science. Especially was
it necessary to establish a human standard, and thus
make it certain and clear that "space-binders"-the members of
the animal world-are "outside of the human law"-outside
the natural laws for the human class of life.
Present civilization
is a very complicated affair; although many of our social problems
are very badly managed, sudden changes could not be made without
endangering the welfare and life of all classes of society.
In the meantime, changes must be made because the world can
not proceed much longer under pre-war conditions; they have
been too well exposed by facts for humanity to allow itself
to be blindly led again.
In the World War
humanity passed through a tremendous trial and for those years
was under the strain of an extensive mobilization campaign.
The necessity of increasing power was manifest; the importance
of a common base or aim became equally manifest. In this case
the base, the common aim, was found in "war patriotism." This
common base enabled all the states to add up individual powers
and build maximum efficiency into a collective power.
This expression is used, not only as a social truth, but as
a known mathematical truth. Those high ideals, which were given
"Urbi et orbi" in thousands of speeches and in millions of propaganda
papers, had a much greater educational importance and influence
than most people are aware of. People have been awakened and
have acquired the taste for those higher purposes which in the
past were available only for the few.
Many old worn-out
idols, ideas and ideals have fallen; but what is going to take
their place? We witness an unrest which will not be eliminated
until something essential is done to adjust it. Calm often betokens
a coming storm. The coming storm is not the work of any "bad
man," but it is the inevitable consequence of a "bad system."
It is dangerous to hide our heads in the sand, like an ostrich,
and fancy we are safe.
"Survival of the
fittest" in the commonly used animal sense is not a theory or
principle for a "time-binding" being. This theory is only for
the physical bodies of animals; its effect upon humanity is
sinister and degrading (see App. II). We see the principle at
work all about us in criminal exploitation and profiteering.
As a matter of fact, the ages-long application of this animal
principle to human affairs has degraded the whole human morale
in an inconceivably far-reaching way. Personal greed and selfishness
are brazenly owned as principles of conduct. We shrug our shoulders
in acquiescence and proclaim greed and selfishness to be the
very core of human nature, take it all for granted, and let
it pass at that. We have gone so far in our degradation that
the prophet of capitalistic principles, Adam Smith, in his famous
Wealth of Nations, arrives at the laws of wealth, not
from the phenomena of wealth nor from statistical statements,
but from the phenomena of selfishness-a fact which shows how
far-reaching in its dire influence upon all humanity is the
theory that human beings are "animals." Of course the effect
is very disastrous. The preceding chapters have shown that the
theory is false; it is false, not only because of its unhappy
effects, but it belies the characteristic nature of man. Human
nature, this time-binding power, not only has the peculiar capacity
for perpetual progress, but it has, over and above all animal
propensities, certain qualities constituting it a distinctive
dimension or type of life. Not only our whole collective life
proves a love for higher ideals, but even our dead give us
the rich heritage, material and spiritual, of all their toils.
There is nothing mystical about it; to call SUCH a class a naturally
selfish class is not only nonsensical but monstrous.
This capacity
for higher ideals does not originate in some "supernatural"
outside factor; it is not of extraneous origin, it is
the expression of the time-binding element which we inherently
possess, independently of our "will"; it is an inborn capacity-a
gift of nature. We simply are made this way and not in
any other. There is indeed a fine sense in which we can, if
we choose, apply the expression- survival of the fittest-to
the activity of the time-binding energies of man. Having the
peculiar capacity to survive in our deeds, we have an inclination
to use it and we survive in the deeds of our creation; and so
there is brought about the "survival in time" of higher and
higher ideals. The moment we consider Man in his proper dimension-active
in TIME-these things become simple, stupendous, and beautiful.
"Note the radical
character of the transformation to be effected. The world shall
no longer be beheld as an alien thing, beheld by eyes that are
not its own. Conception of the whole and by the whole shall
embrace us as part, really, literally, consciously,
as the latest term, it may be, of an advancing sequence of developments,
as occupying the highest rank perhaps in the ever-ascending
hierarchy of being, but, at all events, as emerged and still
emerging natura naturata from some propensive source
within. I grant that the change in point of view is hard to
make-old habits, like walls of rock, tending to confine the
tides of consciousness within their accustomed channels-but
it can be made and, by assiduous effort, in the course of time,
maintained. Suppose it done. By that reunion, the whole regains,
while the part retains, the consciousness the latter purloined....
In the whole universe of events, none is more wonderful than
the birth of wonder, none more curious than the nascence of
curiosity itself, nothing to compare with the dawning of consciousness
in the ancient dark and the gradual extension of psychic life
and illumination throughout a cosmos that before had only been.
An eternity of blindly acting, transforming, unconscious
existence, assuming at length, through the birth of sense and
intellect, without loss or break of continuity, the abiding
form of fleeting time." (C. J. Keyser, loc. cit.)
It must be emphasized
that the development of higher ideals is due to the natural
capacity of humanity; the impulse is simply time-binding
impulse. As we have seen, by analysing the functions of the
different classes of life, every class of life has an impulse
to exercise its peculiar capacity or function. Nitrogen resists
compound combinations and if found in such combinations it breaks
away as quickly as ever it can. Birds have wings-they fly. Animals
have feet-they run. Man has the capacity of time-binding-he
binds time. It does not matter whether we understand the very
"essence" of the phenomenon or not, any more than we understand
the "essence" of electricity or any other "essence." Life shows
that man has time-binding capacity as a natural gift and is
naturally impelled to use it. One of the best examples is procreation.
Conception is a completely incomprehensible phenomenon in its
"essence," nevertheless, having the capacity to procreate we
use it without bothering about its "essence." Indeed neither
life nor science bothers about "essences"-they leave "essences"
to metaphysics, which is neither life nor science. It is sufficient
for our purpose that idealization is in fact a natural process
of time-binding human energy. And however imperfect ethics has
been owing to the prevalence of animal standards, such merits
as our ethics has had witness to the natural presence of "idealization"
in time-binding human life.
"It is thus evident
that ideals are not things to gush over or to sigh and sentimentalize
about; they are not what would be left if that which is hard
in reality were taken away; ideals are themselves the very flint
of reality, beautiful no doubt and precious, without which there
would be neither dignity nor hope nor light; but their aspect
is not sentimental and soft; it is hard, cold, intellectual,
logical, austere. Idealization consists in the conception or
the intuition of ideals and in the pursuit of them. And ideals,
I have said, are of two kinds. Let us make the distinction clearer.
Every sort of human activity-shoeing horses, abdominal surgery,
or painting profiles-admits of a peculiar type of excellence.
No sort of activity can escape from its own type but within
its type it admits of indefinite improvement. For each type
there is an ideal-a dream of perfection-an unattainable limit
of an endless sequence of potential ameliorations within the
type and on its level. The dreams of such unattainable perfections
are as countless as the types of excellence to which they respectively
belong and they together constitute the familiar world of our
human ideals. To share in it-to feel the lure of perfection
in one or more types of excellence, however lowly-is to be human;
not to feel it is to be sub-human. But this common kind of idealization,
though it is very important and very precious, does not produce
the great events in the life of mankind. These are produced
by the kind of idealization that corresponds to what we have
called in the mathematical prototype, limit-begotten generalization-a
kind of idealization that is peculiar to creative genius and
that, not content to pursue ideals within established types
of excellences, creates new types thereof in science, in art,
in philosophy, in letters, in ethics, in education, in social
order, in all the fields and forms of the spiritual life of
man." (Quoted from the manuscript of the forthcoming book, Mathematical
Philosophy, by Cassius J. Keyser.)
"Survival of the
fittest" has a different form for different classes of life.
Applying animal standards to time-binding beings is like applying
inches to measuring weight. As a matter or fact, we cannot raise
one class to a higher class, unless we add an entirely new function
to the former; we can only improve their lower status; but if
we apply the reverse method, we can degrade human standards
to animal standards.
Animal standards
belong to a class of life whose capacity is not an exponential
function of Time. There is nothing theological or
sentimental in this fact; it is a purely mathematical truth.
It is fatal to
apply the "survival of the fittest" theory in the same sense
to two radically different classes of life. The "survival of
the fittest" for animals-for space-binders-is survival
in space, which means fighting and other brutal forms
of struggle; on the other hand, "survival of the fittest" for
human beings as such-that is, for time-binders-is
survival in time, which means intellectual or spiritual
competition, struggle for excellence, for making the best
survive. The-fittest-in-time-those who make the best survive-are
those who do the most in producing values for all mankind including
posterity. This is the scientific base for natural ethics,
and ethics from which there can be no side-stepping, or escape.
Therefore time-binders
can not use "animal" logic without degrading themselves
from their proper status as human beings-their status as established
by nature. "Animal" logic leads to "animal" ethics and "animal"
economics; it leads inevitably to a brutalized industrial system
in which cunning contrives to rob the living of the fruit of
the dead.
Human logic
points to human ethics and human economics; it will lead to
a humanized industrial system in which competition will be competition
in science, in art, in justice: a competition and struggle for
the attainment of excellence in human life. The time-binding
capacity, which manifests itself in drawing from the PAST, through
the PRESENT for the FUTURE gives human beings the means of attaining
a precious kind of immortality; it enables them to fulfill the
law of their own class of life and to survive everlastingly
in the fruits of their toil, a perpetual blessing to endless
generations of the children of men. This is the truth we instinctively
recognize when we call a great man "immortal." We mean that
he has done deeds that survive in time for the perpetual
weal of mankind.
Human logic-mathematical
logic, the logic natural for man-will thus show us that
"good" and "just" and "right" are to have their significance
defined and understood entirely in terms of human nature.
Human nature-not animal nature-is to be the basis and guide
of Human Engineering. Thus based and guided, Human Engineering
will eliminate "wild-cat schemers," gamblers and "politicians."
It will put an end to industrial violence, strikes, insurrections,
war and revolutions.
The present system
of social life is largely built upon misconceptions or misrepresentations.
For all work we need the human brain, the human time-binding
power, yet we continue to call it "hand-labor" and treat it
as such. Even in mechanical science, in the use of the term
"horse-power," we are incorrect in this expression. How does
this "horse" look in reality? Let us analyse this "horse." All
science, all mechanical appliances have been produced by "man"
and man alone. Everything we possess is the production of either
dead men's or living men's work. The enslavement of the solar
man-power is purely a human invention in theory and practice.
Everything we have is evidently therefore a time-binding product.
What perfect nonsense to call a purely human achievement the
equivalent of so much "horse-power"! Of course it does not matter
mathematically what name we give to a unit of power; we may
call it a Zeus or a Zebra; but there is a very vicious implication
in using the name of an animal to denote a purely human product.
Everything in our civilization was produced by MAN; it seems
only reasonable that this unit of power which is the direct
product of Man's work, should be correctly named after him.
The educational effect would be wholesome and tremendous. The
human value in work would be thus emphasized again and again,
and respect for human work would be taught, from the beginning
in the schools. This "horse-power" unit causes us to forget
the human part in it and it degrades human work to the level
of a commodity. This is an example of the degrading influence
of wrong conceptions and wrong language. I said "educational"
because even our subconscious mind is affected by this. (See
App. II.)
Human Engineering
will not interfere with any scientific research; on the contrary,
it will promote it in many ways. Grown-ups, it is to be hoped,
will stop the nonsense of intermixing dimensions, for which
we chastise children. It is the same kind of blundering as when
we intermix phenomena-measuring "God" by human standards, or
human beings by animal standards. The relationship, if any,
between these phenomena or the overlapping of different classes,
is interesting and important; but in studying such relationships
of classes, it is fatal to mix the classes; for example, if
we are studying the relations between surfaces and solids, it
is fatal to mistake solids for surfaces; just so, too, if we
stupidly confuse humans with animals.
In the reality
of life, we are interested only in the values of the function
of the phenomena by themselves and to arrive at right conclusions
we have to use units appropriate to the phenomena. The intermixing
of units gives us a wrong conception of the values of each phenomenon;
the results of our calculations are wrong and the outcome is
a misconception of the process of human life. The fact once
realized, we will cease applying animal measures to man; even
theology will abandon the monstrous habit.
Animal units and
standards are to be applied to animals, human standards to man,
"Divine" standards to "God."
In the dark ages,
with the complete innocence or misunderstanding of science,
the "why" of things was explained by the "who" of things; therein
investigation culminated; man was regarded as homo sapiens
and homo sapiens = animal spark of supernatural;
this monstrous formula was accepted as a final truth-as an answer
to the question: What is Man? This type of answer became in
the hands of church and state a powerful instrument for keeping
the people in subjection.
The tendency of
the masses to let others think for them is not really a natural
characteristic-quite the opposite. The habit of not thinking
for one's self is the result of thousands of years of subjection.
Those in authority, in general, used their ingenuity to keep
the people from thinking. The most vital reason why many humans
appear to be, and are often called, "stupid," is that they have
been spoken to in a language of speculation which they instinctively
dislike and distrust; thus there arose the proverb that speech
was made to conceal the truth. It is no wonder that they appear
"stupid," the wonder is that they are not more "stupid." The
truth is that they will be found to be far less stupid when
addressed in the natural language of ascertainable fact. My
whole theory is based upon, and is in harmony with, the natural
feelings of man. The conceptions I introduce are based on human
nature. Natural language-so different from the speech
of metaphysical speculation-will lead to mutual understanding
and the disappearance of warring factions.
"Discrimination,
as the proverb rightly teaches, is the beginning of mind. The
first psychic product of that initial psychic act is numerical:
to discriminate is to produce two, the simplest possible example
of multiplicity. The discovery, or better the invention, better
still the production, best of all the creation, of multiplicity
with its correlate of number, is, therefore, the most primitive
achievement or manifestation of mind.... Let us, then, trust
the arithmetic instinct as fundamental and, for instruments
of thought that shall not fail, repair at once to the domain
of number." (C. J. Keyser, Loc. Cit.)
The thinking few
knew the power there is in "thinking"; they wanted to have it
and to keep the advantage of it for themselves; witness the
late introduction of public schools. Belief in the inferiority
of the masses became the unwritten law of the "privileged classes";
it was forced upon, rubbed into, the subconscious mind of the
masses by church and state alike, and was humbly and dumbly
accepted by the "lower orders" as their "destiny." Ignorance
was proclaimed as a bliss.
As time went on,
this "coefficient of ignorance" became so useful to some people
and some classes of people that no effort was spared to keep
the world in ignorance. It gave a legalistic excuse to imprison,
burn and hang people for expressing an opinion which the ruling
classes did not like. The elimination from church, from school,
from universities, of any teacher, any professor or any minister
who dared to exemplify or encourage fearless investigation and
freedom of speech became very common. It is less common in our
generation, but there remains much to win in the way of freedom.
Freedom, rightly
understood, is the aim of Human Engineering. But freedom is
not license, it is not licentiousness. Freedom consists in lawful
living- in living in accord with the laws of human nature-
in accord with the natural laws of Man. A plant is
free when it is not prevented from living and growing according
to the natural laws of plant life; an animal is free when it
is not prevented from living according to the natural laws of
animal life; human beings are free when and only when they are
not prevented from living in accord with the natural laws of
human life. I say "when not prevented," for human beings will
live naturally and, therefore, in freedom, when they
are not prevented from thus living by ignorance of what human
nature is and by artificial social systems established, maintained,
and protected by such ignorance. Human freedom consists in exercising
the time-binding energies of man in accordance with the natural
laws of such natural energies. Human freedom is thus the aim
of Human Engineering because Human Engineering is to be the
science of human nature and the art of conducting human affairs
in accordance with the laws of human nature. Survival of the
fittest, where fittest means strongest, is a natural
law for brutes, for animals, for the class of mere space-binders.
Survival of the fittest, where fittest means best
in science and art and wisdom, is a natural law for
mankind, the time-binding class of life.
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