For the very reason that they are so obvious and constitute so large
a part of our daily life, we are in danger of conceiving them to be
exclusively human; we unconsciously regard them as different from anything
to be found elsewhere and quite independent of the biological laws
controlling the human unit.
On the contrary, as we trace the development of social organization from
its earliest rudiments it becomes ever clearer that evolution has been
continuous, and that during later ages there has been no suspension of the
natural laws which earlier produced the human type of organism. The
lessons we have learned are by no means to be ignored from this point
forward; all of our conceptions of human biological history must be kept
in mind, for anything new that we may learn is superadded to the rest,--it
cannot disturb or alter the foundations already laid. It is even more
important to realize that the same scientific method is to be employed
which has been so fruitful heretofore. It has given us interesting facts;
it has indicated the most profitable lines of attack upon one and another
scientific problem; and it has demonstrated the practical value of
accurate knowledge, even of information about the evolutionary process.
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