Social Adaptation A Study In The Development Of The Doctrine Of Adaptation As A Theory Of Social Progress

Author : Lucius Moody Bristol
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781330071458
Total Pages : 378 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (714 download)

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Download or read book Social Adaptation, Vol. 14 written by Lucius Moody Bristol and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-14 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Social Adaptation, Vol. 14: A Study in the Development of the Doctrine of Adaptation as a Theory of Social Progress The doctrine of biological evaluation did not originate with Darwin or with any other modern scientist. It is as old as human speculation. Darwins supreme contribution was his positive proof that the method of evolution was the method of natural selection, of trial and rejection, of extermination and survival. Since his day biological evolution has meant a definite process capable of being studied in detail, tested and verified. Before his time it was only a generalization, a guess as to how things might very well have been, without any definite proof that they were actually so. The concept of social evolution has gone through, or is going through, a similar course of development. This concept also is as old as human speculation. It has generally been, however, only a vague speculation, a guess as to how things socially might conceivably have come about, a vague idea of an unfolding process. A little more definiteness has come into the theory by the attempt to trace the successive stages of evolution. A treatise on this subject, however, is rather a book of social genesis than a book on social evolution. Until some one is able to point out the factors and forces which bring about social evolution, to show the method and the process, it will not have become a scientific concept. In fact, Comtes three stages of mental development are beautifully illustrated in the development of the concept of social evolution. The theological stage is represented by the doctrine of a divine providence moulding human history and leading mankind along by a preordained path. The metaphysical stage is represented by most current theories of social evolution which only point out that society, like a biological organism, grows, and that its growth presumably is the result of some impersonal force or principle, rather than the personal interference of a supernatural being. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.