40


General  Introduction


ment  and  adaptation.  When  there  is  only  one  goal,
the  problem  of  evaluating  the  usefulness  of  facilities
is  narrowed  down  to  their  relevance  to  attaining
this  particular  goal.  With  a  plurality  of  goals,  how-
ever, the  problem  of  "cost"  arises.  That  is,  the  same
scarce  facilities  will  have  alternative  uses  within  the
system  of  goals,  and  hence  their  use  for  one  pur-
pose means  sacrificing  the  gains  that  would  have
been  derived  from  their  use  for  another.  It  is  on  this
basis  that  an  analytical  distinction  must  be  made
between  the  function  of  effective  goal-attainment
and  that  of  providing  disposable  facilities  independ-
ent of  their  relevance  to  any  particular  goal.  The
adaptive  function  is  defined  as  the  provision  of  such
facilities.
