﻿116 
  ORGANISM 
  AND 
  MECHANISM 
  

  

  quito 
  in 
  line 
  with 
  those 
  that 
  occur 
  in 
  conditions 
  apart 
  from 
  

   living 
  creatures 
  altogether; 
  but 
  (2) 
  that 
  at 
  present, 
  without 
  

   going 
  far, 
  we 
  are 
  met 
  by 
  certain 
  difficulties 
  which 
  suggest 
  

   that 
  we 
  should 
  be 
  cautious 
  before 
  concluding 
  that 
  the 
  phy- 
  

   sico-chemical 
  re-descriptions 
  of 
  vital 
  events 
  are 
  adequate 
  or 
  

   on 
  the 
  way 
  towards 
  adequacy. 
  It 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  some 
  bodily 
  

   occurrences 
  admit 
  of 
  mechanistic 
  description 
  and 
  that 
  this 
  

   is 
  very 
  useful, 
  both 
  practically 
  and 
  theoretically. 
  Thus 
  the 
  

   production 
  of 
  animal 
  heat, 
  which 
  was 
  a 
  riddle 
  to 
  the 
  old 
  

   physiologists, 
  has 
  in 
  great 
  measure 
  been 
  accounted 
  for 
  just 
  

   as 
  one 
  might 
  account 
  for 
  the 
  heat 
  in 
  a 
  basin 
  of 
  water 
  after 
  

   electric 
  discharges 
  have 
  been 
  passed 
  through. 
  The 
  clearing 
  

   up 
  of 
  this 
  problem 
  may 
  be 
  practically 
  useful 
  to 
  us 
  on 
  a 
  cold 
  

   day 
  or 
  to 
  our 
  physician 
  if 
  we 
  are 
  fevered. 
  It 
  has 
  also 
  been 
  

   theoretically 
  useful 
  in 
  the 
  science 
  of 
  physiology, 
  for 
  in- 
  

   stance 
  because 
  it 
  brought 
  into 
  prominence 
  the 
  more 
  intricate 
  

   problem 
  of 
  the 
  regulation 
  of 
  the 
  body 
  temperature, 
  which 
  

   does 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  admit 
  at 
  present 
  of 
  mechanistic 
  solution. 
  

   This 
  example 
  seems 
  to 
  us 
  to 
  be 
  typical. 
  Along 
  many 
  lines 
  

   we 
  advance 
  so 
  far 
  with 
  mechanistic 
  formulation, 
  and 
  then 
  

   we 
  are 
  suddenly 
  pulled 
  up. 
  Let 
  us, 
  then, 
  methodically 
  test 
  

   the 
  mechanistic 
  descriptions 
  of 
  occurrences 
  in 
  the 
  realm 
  

   of 
  organisms, 
  keeping 
  in 
  view 
  both 
  the 
  degree 
  of 
  complete- 
  

   ness 
  in 
  the 
  descriptions 
  and 
  their 
  relevancy 
  in 
  biological 
  

   study. 
  It 
  will 
  conduce 
  to 
  clearness 
  if 
  we 
  omit 
  in 
  the 
  mean- 
  

   time 
  all 
  reference 
  to 
  conscious 
  control. 
  Let 
  us 
  consider 
  (1) 
  

   the 
  everyday 
  functions 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  (2) 
  animal 
  behaviour, 
  

   (3) 
  development, 
  and 
  (4), 
  very 
  briefly, 
  evolution. 
  

  

  