Note 179 — Chapter XIV · THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.—CONDILLAC, DIDEROT, HELVETIUS, AND KANT.
William Harold Payne translation
The general law of human progress is inheritance supplemented by individual acquisition. Using the symbols i (inheritance) and a (acquisition), the progress of the race from its origin upwards, through successive generations, may be exhibited by this series: i; i + a; i (2a) + a; i (3a) + a; i (4a) + a. If the factor of inheritance could be eliminated, as Condillac and Spencer recommend, the series would take this form: a′; a″; a‴; aiv; av: the successive increments in acquisition being due to successive increments in power gained through heredity. But, happily, the law of inheritance cannot be abrogated, and so philosophers write books in order to save succeeding generations from the fate of Sisyphus. (P.)