My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

38oMY LIFEerrors, and were often in themselves quite estimablecharacters.Later on, when the teachings of spiritualism combinedwith those of phrenology led me to the conclusionthat there were no absolutely bad men or women,that is, none who, by a rational and sympathetictraining, and a social system which gave to allabsoluteequality of opportunity, might not become useful,contented and happy members of society, I becamemuch more tolerant. I learnt also to distrust all firstimpressions ; for I repeatedly came to enjoy thesociety of people whose appearance or manner had atfirst repelled me, and even in the most apparentlytrivial-minded was able to find some common groundof interest or occupation. I feel myself that mycharacter has continuously improved, and that this isowing chiefly to the teaching of spiritualism, that weare in every act and thought of our lives here buildingup a character which will largely determine our happinessor misery hereafter ; and also, that we obtainthe greatest happiness ourselves by doing all we canto make those around us happy.As I have referred in various parts of this volumeto ideas, or suggestions, or solutions of biologicalproblems, which I have been the first to put forth, itmay be convenient if I here give a brief account ofthe more important of them, some of which have, Ithink, been almost entirely overlooked.I. The first and perhaps the most important ofthese is my independent discovery of the theory ofnatural selection in 1858, in my paper on " TheTendency of Varietiesto depart indefinitely from theOriginal Type." This is reprinted in my " Natural