EXPERIMENTAL MORPHOGENESIS 141 



But what is the conclusion of our rather wild considera- 

 tions ? 



It seems to me that there is only one conclusion 

 possible. If we are going to explain what happens in our 

 harmonious-equipotential systems by the aid of causality 

 based upon the constellation of single physical or chemical 

 factors and events, there must be some such thing as a 

 machine. Now the assumption of the existence of a machine 

 proves to be absolutely absurd in the light of the experimental 



V? V3 



* > s > 



X 

 FIG. 14. AN "HARMONIOUS-EQUIPOTENTIAL SYSTEM "OF WHATEVER KIND. 



According to the " machine-theory " of life this system ought to possess a certain unknown 



very complicated machine in its completeness : 

 (a) in its total length, 



and (6) in each of the equal volumes v, v\ t v%, v 2 and so on, 



and (c) in each of the unequal volumes w, x, y, and so on, 



and (d) in every imaginable volume, no matter of what size. 

 Therefore the "machine-theory " of life is absurd. 



facts. Therefore there can be neither any sort of a machine 

 nor any sort of causality based upon constellation underlying 

 the differentiation of harmonious-equipotential systems. 



For a machine, typical with regard to the three chief 

 dimensions of space, cannot remain itself if you remove 

 parts of it or if you rearrange * its parts at will. 



Here we see that our long and careful study of morpho- 

 genesis has been worth while : it has afforded us a result 

 of the very first importance. 



1 The pressure experiments and the dislocation experiments come into 

 account here ; for the sake of simplicity they have not been alluded to in the 

 main line of our argument. 



