Although the descent of man from animal ancestors was directly implied
in the "Origin of Species," Darwin hesitated at the time of its
publication to declare his views fully, believing that he would only
thus augment and concentrate the prejudice with which his theory would
be met. He had for many years held the views he afterwards expressed;
but it was not until he had by his other works raised up a strong body
of scientific opinion in favour of his great generalisation, that he
fully presented his views on man to the public. The "Descent of Man" was
studied as a special case of the application of his general principles,
a test all the more severe because several classes of argument were
necessarily cut off, such as the nature of the affinities which connect
together whole groups of organisms, their geographical distribution, and
their geological succession. But adopting the high antiquity of man as
demonstrated, he considered in detail the evidence as to man's descent
from some pre-existing form, the manner of his development, and the
value of the differences between the so-called races of man. No
originality is claimed for the theory or for the facts advanced; but it
may safely be affirmed that the master's acuteness, his moderation, his
candour, and his desire to state facts which tell against him, are as
conspicuous in the "Descent of Man" as in any of his works.
The "Descent of Man," which was published in 1871 in two volumes, with
numerous illustrations, began, after a short introduction, with a
suggestive series of questions, which to the evolutionist suffice to
decide the question as to man's origin. As the answers to these
questions are obvious, Darwin first concentrated his inquiry upon two
points on which disputes must necessarily occur, namely, the traces
which man shows, in his bodily structure, of descent from some lower
form, and the mental powers of man as compared with those of lower
animals. The facts of our bodily structure are inexplicable on any other
view than our community of descent with the quadrumana, unless structure
is but a snare to delude our reason. It is only our natural prejudice,
says Darwin, and that arrogance which made our fathers declare that they
were descended from demigods, which leads us to demur to this
conclusion.
The comparison of the mental powers of animals with those of man,
proving, as Darwin contends, that they therein also show traces of
community of descent, was certain to provoke much more debate, for the
term "instinct" and the use made of it by naturalists and psychologists
as signifying untaught, unlearnt ability, largely tended to obscure the
question, and to create prejudices against believing that instincts
could be built up by inherited experience, that instincts were really
not absolute and fixed, but relative and variable, and that all
instincts were not perfect or perfectly useful. The working out of the
evolution theory as applied to animal minds, the study of the first
beginnings of nerve action, and the analysis of instinct, all due
largely to Darwin's prominent disciple, Romanes, together with the
immensely fuller knowledge of molecular physics, of protoplasm, and of
brain function, acquired in the years since Darwin wrote, have sufficed
to place these questions on a much more secure basis. But the collection
of facts made by him, and the suggestive remarks he everywhere makes,
render his book of permanent value. His sympathy is obvious in such
passages as this: "Every one has heard of the dog suffering under
vivisection who licked the hand of the operator; this man, unless he had
a heart of stone, must have felt remorse to the last hour of his life;"
the "terrible" superstitions of the past, such as human sacrifices,
trial by ordeal, &c., show us, he says, "what an indefinite debt of
gratitude we owe to the improvement of our reason, to science, and our
accumulated knowledge." We see the fruit of Darwin's repeated visits to
the Zoological Gardens, especially in his study of the habits and mental
powers of monkeys. We gain a definition from him of imagination, by
which faculty man "unites, independently of the will, former images and
ideas, and thus creates brilliant and novel results.... The value of the
products of our imagination depends of course on the number, accuracy,
and clearness of our impressions; on our judgment and taste in selecting
or rejecting the involuntary combinations, and to a certain extent on
our power of voluntarily combining them." As to religion, he says,
"There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the
ennobling belief in the existence of an omnipotent God." On the
contrary, evidence proves that there are and have been numerous races
without gods and without words to express the idea. The question, he
says, is "wholly distinct from that higher one, whether there exists a
Creator and Ruler of the universe; and this has been answered in the
affirmative by the highest intellects that have ever lived." The fact of
races existing without a belief in a god is shown to be compatible with
the origin of religious ideas from attempts to explain external
phenomena and man's own existence, by attributing to other objects and
agencies a similar spirit to that which his consciousness testifies to
in himself.
Man's social qualities, as well as those of animals, Darwin regards as
having been developed for the general good of the community, which he
defines as "the means by which the greatest possible number of
individuals can be reared in full vigour and health, with all their
faculties perfect, under the conditions to which they are exposed." This
may be regarded as a more satisfactory expression of the idea underlying
the phrase, "the greatest happiness of the greatest number." Sympathy
for animals he notes as one of the later acquisitions of mankind, and
remarks that he found the very idea of humanity a novelty to the Gauchos
of the Pampas. "The highest stage in moral culture at which we can
arrive is when we recognise that we ought to control our thoughts....
Whatever makes any bad action familiar to the mind, renders its
performance so much the easier"--a significant expression for those who
would compare the teachings of Darwinism with those of Christianity.
Finally, he concludes that the difference in mind between man and the
higher animals is one of degree, not of kind. "At what age does
the new-born infant possess the power of abstraction, or become
self-conscious and reflect on its own existence? We cannot answer; nor
can we answer in regard to the ascending organic scale." Yet that man's
mental and moral faculties may have been gradually evolved "ought not to
be denied, when we daily see their development in every infant; and when
we may trace a perfect gradation from the mind of an utter idiot, lower
than that of the lowest animal, to the mind of a Newton."
The action of natural selection on the variations known to occur in man,
is next shown to be sufficient to account for his rise from a lowly
condition. Perhaps it is in discussing the development of the
intellectual and moral faculties that Darwin is least successful; more
knowledge of psychology than he possessed is demanded for this
discussion. He gives up the problem of the first advance of savages
towards civilisation as "at present much too difficult to be solved."
He, however, vigorously contests the idea that man was at first
civilised and afterwards degenerated; and expresses the opinion that the
"highest form of religion--the grand idea of God hating sin and loving
righteousness--was unknown during primeval times." Finally, after
discussing the steps in the genealogy of man, he comes to the conclusion
that from the old-world monkeys, at a remote period, proceeded man, "the
wonder and glory of the universe." The early progenitors of man he
believes to have been covered with hair, both sexes having had beards;
their ears were pointed and capable of movement; their bodies were
provided with a tail, and the foot was probably prehensile. Our
primitive ancestors lived chiefly in trees in some warm forest-clad
land, and the males were provided with formidable weapons in the shape
of great canine teeth.
"Thus," says Darwin, "we have given to man a pedigree of prodigious
length, but not, it may be said, of noble quality. The world, it has
been often remarked, appears as if it had long been preparing for the
advent of man; and this, in one sense, is strictly true, for he owes his
birth to a long line of progenitors. If any single link in this chain
had never existed, man would not have been exactly what he now is.
Unless we wilfully close our eyes, we may, with our present knowledge,
approximately recognize our parentage; nor need we feel ashamed of it.
The most humble organism is something much higher than the inorganic
dust under our feet; and no one with an unbiassed mind can study any
living creature, however humble, without being struck with enthusiasm at
its marvellous structure and properties."
In considering the formation and perpetuation of the races of mankind,
Darwin was again and again baffled. He could not decide that any of the
physical differences between the races are of direct and special service
to him, thus giving opportunity to natural selection to work. Hence he
was led to study in detail the effects of sexual selection, especially
as applicable to man. The greater part of "The Descent of Man" is
occupied with tracing out what may be called the history of courtship in
man and animals. The great variety of interesting subjects dealt with
cannot be detailed here. We must only notice a few points about mankind
which are of special importance.
Darwin concludes that man's predominance over woman in size, strength,
courage, pugnacity, and even energy was acquired in primeval times, and
that these advantages have been subsequently augmented chiefly through
the contests between men for women. Even man's intellectual vigour and
inventiveness are probably due to natural selection, combined with
inherited effects of habit, for the most able men will have succeeded
best in defending and providing for their wives and offspring. Beards,
beardlessness, voice, beauty are all related to sexual charm, and have
been selectively developed. Early man, less licentious, not practising
infanticide, was in several respects better calculated to carry out
sexual selection than he is now; and thus we find the various races of
men fully differentiated at the earliest date of historic records.
Incidentally Darwin gives us his views on the mental differences between
man and woman. Woman is more tender and less selfish than man, whose
ambition "passes too easily into selfishness," which latter qualities
"seem to be his natural and unfortunate birthright." Woman's powers of
intuition, of rapid perception, and perhaps of imitation, are more
strongly marked than in man. Yet the chief pre-eminence of man he
considers to consist in attaining greater success in any given line than
woman, by reason of greater energy, patience, &c. "In order that woman
should reach the same standard as man, she ought, when nearly adult, to
be trained to energy and perseverance, and to have her reason and
imagination exercised to the highest point, and then she would probably
transmit these qualities chiefly to her adult daughters." Here we have a
plan of women's higher education according to the great evolutionist,
although he does not assert that it is the essential and desirable one;
but given a certain object, here is the best method of securing it. "The
whole body of women, however, could not be thus raised, unless during
many generations the women who excelled in the above robust virtues were
married, and produced offspring in larger numbers than other women."
The doctrine that man is descended from some less highly organised form,
Darwin asserts in his concluding chapter, rests on grounds which will
never be shaken--namely, the similar structure and course of development
of embryos of the higher animals, and vast numbers of facts of structure
and constitution, rudimental structures, and abnormal reversions. The
mental powers of the higher animals graduate into those of man.
Language, and the use of tools, made man dominant. The brain then
immensely developed, and morality sprang from the social instinct.
Comparing and approving certain actions and disapproving others,
remembering and looking back, he became conscientious and imaginative.
Sympathy, arising in the desire to give aid to one's fellows, was
strengthened by praise and blame, and conduces to happiness. "As
happiness is an essential part of the general good, the greatest
happiness principle indirectly serves as a nearly safe standard of right
and wrong.... But with the less civilised nations reason often errs,
and many bad customs and base superstitions come within the same scope,
and consequently are esteemed as high virtues and their breach as heavy
crimes."
The belief in God, the author says, is not innate or intuitive in man,
but only arises after long culture. As to the bearing of the evolution
theory on the immortality of the soul, Darwin thinks few people will
find cause for anxiety in the impossibility of determining at what
period in the ascending scale man became an immortal being. "The birth,
both of the species and of the individual, are equally parts of that
grand sequence of events, which our minds refuse to accept as the result
of blind chance. The understanding revolts at such a conclusion."
The bearing of the Darwinian doctrine on some important practical
questions for society leads to the remark that, while man scans with
scrupulous care the pedigree of his animals, when he comes to his own
marriage he rarely or never takes any such care. Perhaps Darwin was
somewhat in error here; and, also, he seems to have underrated the
unconscious tendency to act according to natural law, which has no doubt
influenced mankind largely. He lays down the principle that both sexes
ought to refrain from marriage if markedly inferior in body or mind, or
if they cannot avoid abject poverty for their children. When the laws of
inheritance are thoroughly known, he says, we shall not hear ignorant
members of our legislature rejecting with scorn a plan for ascertaining,
by an easy method, whether or not consanguineous marriages are injurious
to man. But Darwin is by no means in favour of any restriction on man's
natural rate of increase; for it is the greatest means of preventing
indolence from causing the race to become stagnant or to degenerate.
Only, there should be open competition for all men; and the most able
should not be prevented by laws or customs from succeeding best and
rearing the largest number of offspring.
In summing up on the entire subject, Darwin expresses himself with more
than his wonted vigour and point. On the one hand, he endeavours to
disarm opposition by quoting heroic monkeys as contrasted with degraded
barbarians; on the other hand, he welcomes the elevation of man so far
above his barbarous ancestors. Finally, he takes his stand upon truth,
as against likes and dislikes. "The astonishment which I felt on first
seeing a party of Fuegians on a wild and broken shore will never be
forgotten by me, for the reflection at once rushed into my mind--such
were our ancestors. These men were absolutely naked and bedaubed
with paint; their long hair was tangled, their mouths frothed with
excitement, and their expression was wild, startled, and distrustful.
They possessed hardly any arts, and, like wild animals, lived on what
they could catch. They had no government, and were merciless to every
one not of their own small tribe. He who has seen a savage in his native
land will not feel much shame, if forced to acknowledge that the blood
of some more humble creature flows in his veins. For my own part, I
would as soon be descended from that heroic little monkey, who braved
his dreaded enemy in order to save the life of his keeper; or from that
old baboon, who, descending from the mountains, carried away in triumph
his young comrade from a crowd of astonished dogs--as from a savage who
delights to torture his enemies, offers up bloody sacrifices, practises
infanticide without remorse, treats his wives like slaves, knows no
decency, and is haunted by the grossest superstitions.
"Man may be excused for feeling some pride at having risen, though not
through his own exertions, to the very summit of the organic scale; and
the fact of his having thus risen, instead of having been aboriginally
placed there, may give him hopes for a still higher destiny in the
distant future. But we are not here concerned with hopes or fears, only
with the truth as far as our reason allows us to discover it. I have
given the evidence to the best of my ability; and we must acknowledge,
as it seems to me, that man, with all his noble qualities, with sympathy
which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not
only to other men, but to the humblest living creature, with his
god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and
constitution of the solar system--with all these exalted powers--Man
still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly
origin."
The reception accorded to "The Descent of Man" was more excited than
that of "The Origin of Species." The first large edition was quickly
exhausted, and discussion or ridicule of the book was the fashionable
recreation. _Mr. Punch_, week after week, reflected passing opinion. One
of his Darwinian ballads on our ancestors is worth quoting from:--
"They slept in a wood,
Or wherever they could,
For they didn't know how to make beds;
They hadn't got huts,
They dined upon nuts,
Which they cracked upon each other's heads.
They hadn't much scope
For a comb, brush, or soap,
Or towels, or kettle, or fire;
They had no coats nor capes,
For ne'er did these apes
Invent what they didn't require.
· · · · ·
From these though descended,
Our manners are mended,
Though still we can grin and backbite;
We cut up each other,
Be he friend or brother,
And tails are the fashion--at night.
This origination
Is all speculation--
We gamble in various shapes;
So Mr. Darwin
May speculate in
Our ancestors having been apes."
_The Athenæum_ was unbelieving, but not denunciatory. _The Edinburgh
Review_ declared the doctrine of natural selection hopelessly inadequate
to explain the phenomena of man's body; although its truth and falsehood
had no necessary connection with the general theory of evolution: some
law as yet unknown being looked for. Darwin's attempt to explain the
evolution of mind and the moral sense is regarded as failing in every
point. "Never, perhaps, in the history of philosophy, have such wide
generalisations been derived from such a small basis of fact." _The
Quarterly Review_ now acknowledged that "the survival of the fittest"
was a truth which readily presented itself to any one considering the
subject, and that to Darwin was due the credit of having first brought
it forward and demonstrated its truth, and asserted that the destruction
of the least fit was recognised thousands of years ago. But, in regard
to the descent of man, it fastens specially upon the author's theory of
mental and moral evolution, and declares that he has utterly failed.
_The Saturday Review_, however, admitted the high antiquity of man, and
the nearness of his bodily structure to the apes, and went much further.
In discussing the evolution of morals, the author's unexampled grasp of
facts, with his power of correlation, is, according to _The Saturday_,
seen at its highest, in an exquisite chain of philosophical deduction.
The mode in which, at a remote period, the races of mankind became
differentiated, is declared to be the weak point in the argument.