A Theory of Conduct

Abstract

In the beginning every creature was a patriarch: it was, philosophically, not only its individual self, but also all its potential progeny. Such a creature's whole conduct was directed towards the one goal of eternal life on earth. It so happened that in very many cases the creature's best chance of success involved association with other creatures of its kind, or even of other kinds. From this arose the complication of the acquirement of tribal instincts. Tribal instincts were acquired only for patriarchal purposes, though in very many cases they proved to be the immediate cause of the creature's death. A further complication arose when certain of the creatures acquired intellect and took to thinking. Philosophically, a living thing exists only that it may produce a generation capable of producing yet another generation. A generation is important only as the cause of its next generation. Intellect often gave the creature an immediate advantage over rivals, but it glorified the individual self at the expense of the patriarchal self. This is recognised in the third chapter of Genesis, where intellect is called the serpent, and thinking is called (in Chapter II) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The statement that “in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die” declares that the race is kept going only by those who do not understand how to limit their families.