首页 >出版文学> First Principles>第34章

第34章

  Thishowever,thoughaverballyintelligiblesupposition,isonethatcannot
  berepresentedinthought;sinceunlimitedspaceisinconceivable。Butall
  finiteformsofthehomogeneous——allformsofitwhichwecanknoworconceive,
  mustinevitablylapseintoheterogeneity;andthelessheterogeneousmust
  lapseintothemoreheterogeneous。Inthreeseveralwaysdoesthepersistence
  offorcenecessitatethis。Settingexternalagenciesaside,eachunitof
  ahomogeneouswholemustbedifferentlyaffectedfromanyoftherestby
  theaggregateactionoftherestuponit。Theresultantforceexercisedby
  theaggregateoneachunit,beinginnotwocasesalikeinbothamountand
  direction,andusuallynotineither,anyincidentforce,evenifuniform
  inamountanddirection,cannotproducelikeeffectsontheunits。Andas
  thevariouspositionsofthepartsinrelationtoanyincidentforce,prevents
  themfromreceivingitinuniformamountsanddirections,afurtherdifferenceintheeffectswroughtontheminevitablyarises。Onefurtherremarkisneeded。Theconclusionthatthechangeswithwhich
  Evolutioncommences,arethusnecessitated,hastobesupplementedbythe
  conclusionthatthesechangesmustcontinue。Theabsolutelyhomogeneous(supposing
  ittoexist)mustloseitsequilibrium;andtherelativelyhomogeneousmust
  lapseintotherelativelylesshomogeneous。Thatwhichistrueofanytotal
  mass,istrueofthepartsintowhichitsegregates。Theuniformityofeach
  suchpartmustasinevitablybelostinmultiformity,aswasthatofthe
  originalwhole;andforlikereasons。Andthusthecontinuedchangescharacterizing
  Evolution,insofarastheyareconstitutedbythelapseofthehomogeneous
  intotheheterogeneous,andofthelessheterogeneousintothemoreheterogeneous,arenecessaryconsequencesofthepersistenceofforce。[AsmallchangeinthedefinitionofEvolutionindicatedinanoteat
  theendofChapterXVIIofthispart,mustberecalledasinvolvingacorrelative
  changeinthischapter。Here,asbefore,therequiredchange,thoughalready
  implied(page367),hasnotbeensufficientlyemphasized,andlackofthe
  emphasisinvitesmisinterpretation。Forreasonslikethosebeforegiven,
  therequisiteexplanationscannotbemadeinthisplace。ThereaderwillfindtheminAppendixA。Repliestocertaincriticismsonthegeneraldoctrinesetforthinthis
  chapterwillbefoundinAppendixC。]
  Chapter20TheMultiplicationofEffects§156。Tothecauseofincreasingcomplexitysetforthinthelast
  chapter,wehaveinthischaptertoaddanother。Thoughsecondaryinorder
  oftime,itisscarcelysecondaryinorderofimportance。Evenintheabsence
  ofthecausealreadyassigned,itwouldnecessitateachangefromthehomogeneous
  totheheterogeneous;andjoinedwithit,itmakesthischangebothmore
  rapidandmoreinvolved。Tocomeinsightofitwehavebuttopursueastep
  furtherthatconflictbetweenforceandmatteralreadydelineated。Letusdothis。Asalreadyshown,whenthecomponentsofauniformaggregatearesubject
  toauniformforce,theybeingdifferentlyconditioned,aredifferentlymodified。
  Butwhilewehavecontemplatedthevariouspartsoftheaggregateasundergoing
  unlikechanges,wehavenotyetcontemplatedtheunlikechangessimultaneously
  producedonthevariouspartsoftheincidentforce。Thesemustbeasnumerous
  astheothers。Indifferentiatingthepartsonwhichitfallsinunlikeways,
  theincidentforcemustitselfbecorrespondinglydifferentiated。Instead
  ofbeingasbefore,auniformforce,itmustthereafterbeamultiformforce
  ——agroupofdissimilarforces。Afewillustrationswillmakethistruthmanifest。Inthecase,latelycited,ofabodyshatteredbyviolentcollision,besides
  thechangeofthehomogeneousmassintoaheterogeneousgroupofscattered
  fragments,thereisachangeofthehomogeneousmomentumintoagroupof
  momenta,heterogeneousinbothamountsanddirections。Similarlywiththe
  forcesweknowaslightandheat。Afterthedispersionofthesebyaradiating
  bodytowardsallpoints,theyarere—dispersedtowardsallpointsbythe
  bodiesonwhichtheyfall。OftheSun'srays,issuingfromhimoneveryside,
  somefewstriketheMoon。ReflectedatallanglesfromtheMoon'ssurface,
  somefewofthesestriketheEarth。Byalikeprocessthefewwhichreach
  theEarthareagaindiffused:someintospace,somefromobjecttoobject。
  Andoneachoccasion,suchportionsoftheraysasaretransmittedinstead
  ofreflected,undergorefractionsorotherchangeswhichequallydestroy
  theiruniformity。Morethanthisistrue。Byconflictwithmatterauniform
  forceisinpartchangedintoforcesdifferingintheirkinds。Whenonebody
  isstruckagainstanother,thatwhichweusuallyregardastheeffect,is
  achangeofpositionormotioninoneorbothbodies。Butthisisavery
  incompleteviewofthematter。Besidesthevisiblemechanicalresult,sound
  isproduced——avibrationinoneorbothbodiesandinthesurroundingair;
  andundersomecircumstanceswecallthistheeffect。Moreover,theairhas
  notsimplybeenmadetovibrate;ithashadcurrentsraisedinitbythe
  transitofthebodies。Further,ifthereisnotthatgreatstructuralchange
  whichwecallfracture,thereisadisarrangementoftheparticlesofthe
  twobodiesaroundtheirpointofcollision;amountinginsomecasestoa
  visiblecondensation。Yetmore,thiscondensationisaccompaniedbygenesis
  ofheat。Insomecasesaspark——thatis,light——resultsfromtheincandescence
  ofaportionstruckoff。Thusbytheoriginalmechanicalforceexpendedin
  thecollision,atleastfivekindsofforceshavebeenproduced。Take,again,
  thelightingofacandle。Primarily,thisisachemicalchangeconsequent
  onariseoftemperature。Theprocessofcombinationhavingoncebeenset
  goingbyextraneousheat,thereisacontinuedformationofcarbondioxide,
  water,etc。Alongwiththisprocessofcombinationthereisaproduction
  ofheat;thereisaproductionoflight;thereisanattendingcolumnof
  hotgasesgenerated;therearecurrentscausedinthesurroundingair。Nor
  doesthedecompositionofoneforceintomanyforcesendhere。Eachofthe
  severalchangesworkedbecomestheparentoffurtherchanges。Thecarbon
  dioxideformedwilleventuallycombinewithsomebase;orundertheinfluence
  ofsunshinegiveupitscarbontotheleafofaplant。Thewaterwillmodify
  thehygrometricstateoftheairaround;or,ifthecurrentofhotgases
  containingitcomesagainstacoldbody,willbecondensed:alteringthe
  temperature,andperhapsthechemicalstate,ofthesurfaceitcovers。The
  heatgivenoutmeltsthesubjacenttallowandexpandswhateverelseitwarms。
  Thelight,fallingonvarioussubstances,callsforthfromthemreactions
  bywhichitisdecomposed,anddiverscoloursarethusproduced。Similarly
  withthesesecondaryactions,whichmaybetracedoutintoever—multiplying
  ramifications,untiltheybecometoominutetobeappreciated。Universally,
  then,theeffectismorecomplexthanthecause。Whethertheaggregateon
  whichitfallsbehomogeneousorotherwise,anincidentforceistransformed
  bytheconflictintoanumberofforcesthatdifferintheiramounts,or
  directions,orkinds;orinalltheserespects。Andofthisgroupofvariously—modifiedforces,eachultimatelyundergoesaliketransformation。Letusnowmarkhowtheprocessofevolutionisfurtheredbythismultiplication
  ofeffects。Anincidentforcedecomposedbythereactionsofabodyinto
  agroupofunlikeforces,becomesthecauseofasecondaryincreaseofmultiformity
  inthebodywhichdecomposesit。Bythereactionsofthevariousparts,differently
  modifiedaswehaveseentheymustbe,theincidentforceitselfmustbe
  dividedintodifferentlymodifiedparts。Eachdifferentiateddivisionof
  theaggregatethusbecomesacentrefromwhichadifferentiateddivision
  oftheoriginalforceisagaindiffused。Andsinceunlikeforcesmustproduce
  unlikeresults,eachofthesedifferentiatedforcesmustproduce,throughout
  theaggregate,afurtherseriesofdifferentiations。Thissecondarycause
  ofthechangefromhomogeneitytoheterogeneity,obviouslybecomesmorepotent
  inproportionastheheterogeneityincreases。Whenthepartsintowhichany
  evolvingwholehassegregateditself,havedivergedwidelyinnature,they
  willnecessarilyreactverydiverselyonanyincidentforce——theywill
  divideanincidentforceintosomanystronglycontrastedgroupsofforces。
  Andeachofthembecomingthecentreofaquitedistinctsetofinfluences,
  mustaddtothenumberofdistinctsecondarychangeswroughtthroughoutthe
  aggregate。Yetanothercorollarymustbeadded。Thenumberofunlikeparts
  ofwhichanaggregateconsists,isanimportantfactorintheprocess。Every
  additionalspecializeddivisionisanadditionalcentreofspecializedforces,
  andmustbeafurthersourceofcomplicationamongtheforcesatworkthroughout
  themass——afurthersourceofheterogeneity。Themultiplicationofeffectsmustproceedingeometricalprogression。§157。Thescatteredpartsofanirregularnebulaincourseofbeing
  drawntogetherorintegrated,cannotdisplayinadefinitemannerthesecondary
  traitsofevolution:thesepresupposeanaggregatealreadyformed。Wecan
  sayonlythatthehalf—independentcomponents,eachattractedbyalland
  allbyeach,exhibitintheirvariousmomenta,differentintheiramounts
  anddirections,amultiplicationofeffectsproducedbyasinglegravitativeforce。Butassumingthattheintegrativeprocesshasatlengthgeneratedasingle
  massofnebulousmatter,thenthesimultaneouscondensationandrotation
  showushowtwoeffectsoftheaggregativeforce,atfirstbutslightlydivergent,
  becomeatlastwidelydifferentiated。Anincreaseofoblatenessinthisspheroid
  musttakeplacethroughthejointactionofthesetwoforces,asthebulk
  diminishesandtherotationgrowsmorerapid;andthiswemaysetdownas
  athirdeffect。Thegenesisofheat,accompanyingaugmentationofdensity,
  isaconsequenceofyetanotherorder——aconsequencebynomeanssimple;
  sincethevariouspartsofthemass,beingvariouslycondensed,mustbevariously
  heated。Actingthroughoutagaseousspheroid,ofwhichthepartsareunlike
  intheirtemperatures,theforcesofaggregationandrotationmustworka
  furtherseriesofchanges:theymustsetupcirculatingcurrents,bothgeneral
  andlocal。Atalaterstagelightaswellasheatwillbegenerated。Thus
  withoutdwellingonthelikelihoodofchemicalcombinationsandelectric
  disturbances,itismanifestthat,supposingmattertohaveoriginallyexisted
  inadiffusedstate,theonceuniformforcewhichcauseditsaggregation,
  musthavebecomegraduallydividedintodifferentforces;andthateachfurther
  stageofcomplicationintheresultingaggregate,musthaveinitiatedfurther
  subdivisionsofthisforce——afurthermultiplicationofeffects,increasingthepreviousheterogeneity。Thissectionoftheargumentmayhoweverbeadequatelysustainedwithout
  havingrecoursetoanysuchhypotheticalillustrationsastheforegoing。
  TheastronomicalattributesoftheEarthwill,evenbythemselves,suffice
  forourpurpose。Considerfirsttheeffectsofitsrotation。Thereisthe
  oblatenessofitsform;thereisthealternationofdayandnight;there
  arecertainconstantmarinecurrents;andtherearecertainconstantaerial
  currents。Considernextthesecondaryseriesofconsequencesduetothedivergence
  oftheEarth'splaneofrotationfromtheplaneofitsorbit。Themanyvariations
  oftheseasons,bothsimultaneousandsuccessive,whichpervadeitssurface,
  arethuscaused。ExternalattractionoftheMoonandSunactingontheequatorial
  protuberanceofthisrotatingspheroidwithinclinedaxis,producesthemotion
  callednutation,andthatslowerandlargeronefromwhichfollowstheprecession
  oftheequinoxes,withitsseveralsequences。Andthen,bythissameforce,aregeneratedthetides,aqueousandatmospheric。Perhaps,however,thesimplestwayofshowingthemultiplicationofeffects
  amongphenomenaofthisorder,willbetosetdowntheinfluencesofany
  memberoftheSolarSystemontherest。Aplanetdirectlyproducesinneighbouring
  planetscertainappreciableperturbations,complicatingthoseotherwiseproduced
  inthem;andintheremoterplanetsitdirectlyproducescertainlessvisible
  perturbations。Hereisafirstseriesofeffects。Buteachoftheperturbed
  planetsisitselfasourceofperturbations——eachdirectlyaffectsall
  theothers。Hence,planetAhavingdrawnplanetBoutofthepositionit
  wouldhaveoccupiedinA'sabsence,theperturbationswhichBcausesare
  differentfromwhattheywouldelsehavebeen;andsimilarlywithC,D,E,
  etc。Herethenisasecondaryseriesofeffects;farmorenumerousthough
  farsmallerintheiramounts。Astheseindirectperturbationsmusttosome
  extentmodifythemovementsofeachplanet,thereresultsfromthematertiary
  series;andsooninevermultiplyinganddiminishingwavesthroughouttheentiresystem。§158。IftheEarthwasformedbytheconcentrationofdiffusedmatter,
  itmustatfirsthavebeenincandescent;andwhetherthenebularhypothesis
  beacceptedornot,thisoriginalincandescenceoftheEarthmaynowberegarded
  asinductivelyestablished——or,ifnotestablished,atleastrenderedso
  probablethatitisagenerallyadmittedgeologicaldoctrine。Severalresults
  ofthegradualcoolingoftheEarth——astheformationofacrust,thesolidification
  ofsublimedelements,theprecipitationofwater,etc。——havebeenalready
  noticed,andIagainrefertothemmerelytopointoutthattheyaresimultaneous
  effectsoftheonecause,diminishingheat。Letusnow,however,observe
  themultipliedchangesafterwardsarisingfromthecontinuanceofthisone
  cause。TheEarth,fallingintemperature,mustcontract。Hencethesolid
  crustatanytimeexistingispresentlytoolargefortheshrinkingnucleus,
  and,beingunabletosupportitself,inevitablyfollowsthenucleus。But
  aspheroidalenvelopecannotsinkdownintocontactwithasmallerinternal
  spheroid,withoutdisruption:itwillrunintowrinklesastherindofan
  appledoeswhenthebulkofitsinteriordecreasesfromevaporation。Asthe
  coolingprogressesandtheenvelopethickens,theridgesconsequentonthese
  contractionsmustbecomegreater,risingultimatelyintohillsandmountains;
  andthelatersystemsofmountainsthusproducedmustnotonlybehigher,
  aswefindthemtobe,butmustbelonger,aswealsofindthemtobe。Thus,
  leavingoutofviewothermodifyingforces,weseewhatimmenseheterogeneity
  ofsurfacearisesfromtheonecause,lossofheat——aheterogeneitywhich
  thetelescopeshowsustobeparalleledontheMoon,whereaqueousandatmospheric
  agencieshavebeenabsent。Butwehaveyettonoticeanotherkindofheterogeneity
  ofsurface,simultaneouslycaused。WhiletheEarth'scrustwasthin,the
  ridgesproducedbyitscontractionsmustnotonlyhavebeensmallinheight
  andlength,butthetractsbetweenthemmusthaverestedwithcomparative
  smoothnessonthesubjacentliquidspheroid;andthewaterinthosearctic
  andantarcticregionswhereitfirstcondensed,musthavebeenevenlydistributed。
  Butasfastasthecrustgrewthickerandgainedcorrespondingstrength,
  thelinesoffracturefromtimetotimecausedinit,occurredatgreater
  distancesapart;theintermediatesurfacesfollowedthecontractingnucleus
  withlessuniformity;andthereconsequentlyresultedlargerareasofland
  andwater。Ifanyone,afterwrappinganorangeintissuepaperandobserving
  bothhowsmallarethewrinklesand,howevenlytheinterveningspaceslie
  onthesurfaceoftheorange,willthenwrapitinthickcartridge—paper,
  andnoteboththegreaterheightoftheridgesandthelargerspacesthroughout
  whichthepaperdoesnottouchtheorange,hewillseethatastheEarth's
  solidenvelopethickened,theareasofelevationanddepressionbecamegreater。
  Inplaceofislandsmoreorlesshomogeneouslyscatteredthroughoutanall—embracing
  sea,theremusthavegraduallyarisenheterogeneousarrangementsofcontinent
  andocean,suchaswenowknow。Thesesimultaneouschangesintheextent
  andintheelevationofthelands,involvedyetanotherspeciesofheterogeneity
  ——thatofcoast—line。Atolerablyevensurfaceraisedoutoftheoceanwill
  haveasimple,regularsea—margin;butasurfacevariedbytable—landsand
  intersectedbymountain—chains,will,whenraisedoutoftheocean,have
  anoutlineextremelyirregular,alikeinitsleadingfeaturesandinits
  details。Thusendlessistheaccumulationofgeologicalandgeographical
  resultsbroughtaboutbythisonecause——escapeoftheEarth'sprimitiveheat。Whenwepassfromtheagencywhichgeologiststermigneous,toaqueous
  andatmosphericagencies,weseealikeever—growingcomplicationofeffects。
  Thedenudingactionsofairandwaterhave,fromthebeginning,beenmodifying
  everyexposedsurface:everywhereworkingmanydifferentchanges。Asalready
  said(§69)theoriginalsourceofthosegaseousandfluidmotionswhich
  effectdenudation,isthesolarheat。Thetransformationofthisintovarious
  modesofenergy,accordingtothenatureandconditionsofthematteron
  whichitfalls,isthefirststageofcomplication。TheSun'srays,striking
  atallanglesaspherethatfrommomenttomomentpresentedandwithdrew
  differentpartsofitssurface,andeachofthemforadifferenttimedaily
  throughouttheyear,wouldproduceaconsiderablevarietyofchangeseven
  werethesphereuniform。Butfallingastheydoonaspheresurroundedby
  anatmospherecontainingwideareasofcloud,butwhichhereunveilsvast
  tractsofsea,thereoflevelland,thereofmountains,thereofsnowand
  ice,theycauseinitcountlessdifferentmovements。Currentsofairofall
  sizes,directions,velocities,andtemperatures,aresetup;asarealso
  marinecurrentssimilarlycontrastedintheircharacters。Inthisregion
  thesurfaceisgivingoffvapour;inthat,dewisbeingprecipitated;and
  inanother,rainisdescending——unlikenesseswhicharisefromthechanging
  ratiobetweentheabsorptionandradiationofheatineachplace。Atone
  hourarapidfallintemperatureleadstotheformationofice,withanaccompanying
  expansionthroughoutthemoistbodiesfrozen;whileatanotherathawunlocks
  thedislocatedfragmentsofthesebodies。Andthen,passingtoasecondstage
  ofcomplication,weseethatthemanykindsofmotiondirectlyorindirectly
  causedbytheSun'srays,severallyproduceresultswhichvarywiththeconditions。
  Oxidation,drought,wind,frost,rain,glaciers,rivers,waves,andother
  denudingagentseffectdisintegrationsthataredeterminedintheiramounts
  andqualitiesbylocalcircumstances。Actingonatractofgranite,such
  agentshereworkscarcelyanappreciableeffect;therecauseexfoliations
  ofthesurfaceandaresultingheapofdebrisandboulders;andelsewhere,
  afterdecomposingthefeldsparintoawhiteclay,carryawaythiswiththe
  accompanyingquartzandmica,anddeposittheminseparatebeds,fluviatile
  ormarine。Whentheexposedlandconsistsofseveralunlikeformations,sedimentary
  andigneous,changesproportionatelymoreheterogeneousarewrought。The
  formationsbeingdisintegrableindifferentdegrees,therefollowsanincreased
  irregularityofsurface。Theareasdrainedbyadjacentriversbeingdifferently
  constituted,theseriverscarrydowntotheseaunlikecombinationsofingredients;
  andsosundrynewstrataofdistinctcompositionsarise。Andhere,indeed,
  wemayseeveryclearlyhowtheheterogeneityoftheeffectsincreasesin
  ageometricalprogressionwiththeheterogeneityoftheobjectactedupon。
  Letus,forthefullerelucidationofthistruthinrelationtotheinorganic
  world,considerwhatwouldfollowfromanextensivecosmicalcatastrophe
  ——sayagreatsubsidencethroughoutCentralAmerica。Theimmediateresults
  wouldthemselvesbesufficientlycomplex。Besidesthenumberlessdislocations
  ofstrata,theejectionsofigneousmatter,thepropagationofearthquake
  vibrationsmanythousandsofmilesaround,theloudexplosions,andtheescape
  ofgases,therewouldbeaninrushoftheAtlanticandPacificOceans,a
  subsequentrecoilofenormouswaves,whichwouldtraverseboththeseoceans
  andproducemyriadsofchangesalongtheirshores,andcorrespondingatmospheric
  wavescomplicatedbythecurrentssurroundingeachvolcanicvent,aswell
  aselectricaldischargeswithwhicheruptionsareaccompanied。Butthese
  temporaryeffectswouldbeinsignificantcomparedwiththepermanentones。
  ThecomplexcurrentsoftheAtlanticandPacificwouldbealteredintheir
  directionsandamounts。Thedistributionofheatachievedbythesecurrents
  wouldbedifferentfromwhatitis。Thearrangementoftheisothermallines,
  notonlyontheneighbouringcontinentsbuteventhroughoutEurope,would
  bechanged。Thetideswouldflowdifferentlyfromwhattheydonow。There
  wouldbemoreorlessmodificationofthewindsintheirperiods,strengths,
  directions,qualities;andrainwouldfallscarcelyanywhereatthesame
  timesandinthesamequantitiesasatpresent。Inthesemanychanges,each
  includingcountlessminorones,maybeseentheimmenseheterogeneityof
  theresultswroughtoutbyoneforce,whenthatforceexpendsitselfona
  previouslycomplicatedarea:theimplicationbeingthatfromthebeginningthecomplicationhasadvancedatanincreasingrate。§159。Wehavenexttotracethroughoutorganicevolution,thissame
  all—pervadingprinciple。Andhere,wherethetransformationofthehomogeneous
  intotheheterogeneouswasfirstobserved,theproductionofmanychanges
  byonecauseisleasteasytodemonstrateinadirectway。Hereditycomplicateseverything。Nevertheless,byindirectevidencewemayestablishourproposition。Bywayofpreparationobservehownumerousarethechangeswhichanymarked
  stimulusworksonanadultorganism——ahumanbeingforinstance。Analarming
  soundorsight,besidesimpressionsontheorgansofsenseandthenerves,
  mayproduceastart,ascream,adistortionoftheface,atremblingconsequent
  ongeneralmuscularrelaxation,aburstofperspiration,andperhapsanarrest
  oftheheartfollowedbysyncope;andifthesystembefeeble,anillness
  withitslongtrainofcomplicatedsymptommaysetin。Similarlyincases
  ofdisease。Aminuteportionofthesmall—poxvirustakenintothesystem
  will,inaseverecase,cause,duringthefirststage,rigors,heatofskin,
  acceleratedpulse,furredtongue,lossofappetite,thirst,epigastricuneasiness,
  vomiting,headache,patsinthebackandlimbs,muscularweakness,convulsions,
  delirium,etc。;inthesecondstage,cutaneouseruption,itching,tingling,
  sorethroat,swelledfauces,salivation,cough,hoarseness,dyspnoea,etc。;
  andinthethirdstage,oedematousinflammations,pneumonia,pleurisy,diarrhoea,
  inflammationofthebrain,ophthalmia,erysipelas,etc。:eachofwhichenumerated
  symptomsisitselfmoreorlesscomplex。Nowitneedsonlytoconsiderthat
  thisworkingofmanychangesbyoneforceonanadultorganism,mustbepartially
  paralleledinanembryo—organism,tounderstandthatinittootheremust
  beamultiplicationofeffects,evertendingtoproduceincreasingheterogeneity。