The Making of Humanity.

by Robert Briffault
Review by: Arthur J. Todd
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 26, No. 5 (Mar., 1921), pp. 648-650
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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648 THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY

and joy, that will deliver men fromboredomand degeneracyand

summona devotionlike that of Christ,will be inspiredby aspiration
to realize the unfulfilled
possibilitiesof good in the continuinglife of
mankind. Other men will give their lives as Christ gave his only
because they"so love the world." Only in thus givinglifewill they
findit. To discardhypocrisy,to live for genuineness,not so much
in goodworksas in goodwork,to discardtheselfishness ofindividualism,
and ofparty,class,and nation,to look upon one's deeds and character
as part of the fulfilmentof a commontask, thisalone can raise us to
ourtruenobilityas theSons ofMan. Universaland permanent religion
must have its mainspringin a purpose,not in a creed nor a ritual:
the social purposeto whichhumanityhas neverset itself,and which
mustwait forrealizationuntilit does becomethe commonreligionof
right-minded men.
E. C. HAYES
UNIVERSITY OF ILLIINOIS

The Makingof Humanity. By ROBERT BRIEFAULT. New York:

The Macmillan Co., 1919. Pp. 371. $4.00.
This is a remarkablebook-the most passionateexpositionof the
conceptof progressthat we have in English. While the
intellectualist
authordismissestoo cavalierlyearlierattemptsto formulatethe idea
ofprogressand whilehe admitsthatprogressis stilla controversial idea,
yet he assertswith almost mathematicaldefiniteness that progressis
undeniable,inevitablein fact,evenifwe do not knowthegoal. More-
over he declaresthecause of humanprogressfromthe verybeginning
to be "rational thought."
His argumentproceedssomewhatas follows: Rational thoughtis
man'smeansofadaptation;eventhoughnot alwaysor oftenpurposive,
frequently onlyshownin the methodof trialand error,yetin the long
run rationalityprevails and truthtriumphs. Reason is necessarily
progressivebecause inexorablylogical. Human societyis essentially
psychologicaland improvements pass throughthe social heredityas
ideas, not throughgerminalchanges. Progressalong rationallines is
a battleagainstthe hindrancesset up by non-rational custom-thought
and power-thought.These fettersare brokensometimesby wise heads
or by "dim horsesdnseofthe mob,"but usuallytheyare brokenin only
two ways: by materialdiscoveryand by cross-fertilization of culture.
Progressis therefore exceptionaland is neverpossible in an isolated
peopleor a socialclass; but sinceit is alwayspresentit is thereforethe

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 REVIEWS 649

rule! Orientalhistoryillustrateshow religiouspower-thought hindered

the rise and flowering of an intellectualimpulse. In a brilliantbut
somewhatsuperficial chapterthe authorshowshow Greecebrokethis
viciousspell. Laterhe analyzesthecontribution ofRome and describes
how Rome succumbedto orientalreligionand her own fallacies; how
Byzantiumonlyadded to the barbarianwreckageand how civilization
was rekindled by theSaracens. One ofthemostbrilliantsectionsin the
bookis the analysisofpower-thought; anotheris an eloquentapologetic
forMoslemcivilization. Scarcelyless so is the acid criticism of the so-
calledRenaissance, whichis showntobe a distinctsetback.
The author distinguishes four broad stages in human evolution.
First,the period of tribalor custom-thought.Second, the period of
greatorientalcivilization whollydominatedbytheocraticpower-thought.
Third,the Greekliberationfromcustom-and power-thought.Fourth,
the age in whichwe live. Onlyrationalthought,he argues,couldhave
made development and progresspossibleout of the welterof conflicting
powerand barbarities ofthelast fivehundredyearsofEuropean history;
just as onlyrationalthoughtcouldbreakthecrustof orientaltheocracy.
The key to this developmentmay be summarizedas a compoundof
Arab culture,Protestantism, criticalphilosophy,and physicalscience
as summedup in theFrenchRevolution.
The author meets squarely the two inevitablecriticismsof the
intellectualist theory. First,he argues that decadenceor corruption
such as obtainedin Rome and in the Renaissanceis not the resultof
intellectualculturebut is the effectof poweror is itselfnot genuine.
Second,he contendsthatintellectual development means moraldevelop-
ment. Progressis ethical,forit concernshumanity;and moral con-
siderationsare paramountwith the idea of humanitysince the moral
law is the law of nature. Moral naturedoes progressand its progress
is directlyassociatedwithdiffusion of rationalthoughtand is the direct
outcomeofit. The essenceofmoralprogressis a refinement oftheidea
of justice; therefore, while democracyis the clumsiestand most in-
efficient formof government, it is the most moralbecause the most
just. Since morality,the mores,restsupon opinionsand not abstract
ethics,it is essentialformoralprogress thatopinionbe clearedbyrational
thought. Hence the author'semphasisupon social ethicsratherthan
personal righteousness as a moral dynamic. The main body of the
book closeswith the new categoricalimperativein thesewords: "A
new ethicalsense,the true and natural ethical spiritwhose vaguely
consciousoperationhas createdmankind,is inevitablydeveloping. To

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 650 THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY

be with the forcesof human growth,to be trulya living part, and

not a meredead excretion, of the creativeimpulseof the race, that is
the obligationwhichif we have indeedapprehendedour real relation,
is inevitablylaid upon us." This categoricalimperativehas not yet
been attained,forspecifichumanevolutionhas onlyjust begun. We
can controland directthis evolutionby organizingthe "reproductive
mechanism";thisis not educationas it is now generallypracticed,but
the impartingof rationalthoughtby whatsoevermeans and methods,
by buildingup the mentalequipmentof humanity. And it is under-
stood that this rational thoughtis primarilycriticaland not con-
structive.
Whileacceptingin generalthe magnificent gestureof the book,it is
perfectlypossibleto questionsome of its details. The revieweris in
doubt,forexample,as to whatis absolutesocialrightand justiceofwhich
the authormakesso much. Thereseemsto be nothingabsoluteabout
it exceptits generaldirection. Again,we cannotbut feelthat it is an
exaggeration to assertthatthe greatmodernvice is the tolerationof all
opinionsas equallygood and valid. Our recentwar experience and the
social commotions of a centuryhardlybear out this criticism.Exag-
geratedalso is the author'sdogmaticinsistencethat therehas been no
evolutionin sexual morality. This would seem to be a denial of his
ownthesis.
The authormakeslittleparade of scholarship,he offersthe reader
no bibliography, veryfewfootnotes, and no index. Writtenlargelyin
the trenchesof Gallipoliand Franceit is nevertheless not slapdash,but
the summationof long previousresearch. His styleis lyric,verging
toward purple in spots. His chapter titles are vivid; for ex-
ample, "The Discoveryof Man," "Morals as Comfort,""Morals on
the March," "The Hopefulnessof Pessimism." He gives no hintas
to hisownpersonality, yethe showsunmistakably theinfluenceofComte,
in his intellectualism,but is strongwhere Comtewas weakest,namely
in historicalinterpretation.This book is to be welcomedas another
strawindicatinghow the problemof progressis commanding theatten-
tion of the worldof scholarshipand statesmanship, particularlysince
theworld-war.It is moreovera convincing proofthatscholarshipneed
not be dull,foras a matterof factit has all theverveand imaginative
thrillofhighromance.
ARTHURJ. TODD
CHICAGO

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