﻿ORGANISM 
  AND 
  MECHANISM 
  121 
  

  

  things 
  happen, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  chain 
  of 
  events 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  long 
  

   or 
  short, 
  intricate 
  or 
  simple, 
  hut 
  which 
  is 
  quite 
  clearly 
  

   stateable 
  in 
  chemico-physical, 
  i.e., 
  theoretically 
  mechanical, 
  

   language. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  otherwise 
  when 
  a 
  living 
  structure 
  

   responds 
  to 
  a 
  stimulus. 
  " 
  There 
  is 
  in 
  reality 
  no 
  experi- 
  

   mental 
  evidence 
  whatsoever 
  that 
  the 
  process 
  can 
  be 
  under- 
  

   stood 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  physical 
  and 
  chemical 
  causation. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  

   When 
  we 
  attempt 
  to 
  trace 
  a 
  connection 
  we 
  are 
  lost 
  in 
  an 
  

   indefinite 
  maze 
  of 
  complex 
  conditions, 
  out 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  

   response 
  emerges' 
  (Haldane, 
  1913, 
  p. 
  34). 
  A 
  very 
  

   familiar 
  fact 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  same 
  stimulus 
  applied 
  to 
  two 
  ap- 
  

   parently 
  similar 
  animals 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  animal 
  at 
  different 
  

   times 
  evokes 
  different 
  answers. 
  We 
  can 
  indeed 
  give 
  reasons 
  

   for 
  this, 
  but 
  the 
  reasons 
  are 
  not 
  mechanical 
  reasons. 
  

  

  Why 
  is 
  it 
  that 
  we 
  cannot 
  adequately 
  describe 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  

   the 
  organism 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  chemistry 
  and 
  physics 
  ? 
  Let 
  us 
  

   take 
  an 
  answer 
  from 
  the 
  philosophical 
  physiologist, 
  already 
  

   quoted, 
  Dr. 
  J. 
  S. 
  Haldane, 
  in 
  his 
  contribution 
  to 
  Life 
  

   and 
  Finite 
  Individuality 
  (1918). 
  Because 
  the 
  organism 
  

   " 
  forms 
  itself 
  and 
  keeps 
  itself 
  in 
  working 
  order 
  and 
  ac- 
  

   tivity 
  ' 
  (p. 
  14), 
  and 
  " 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  a 
  mechanism 
  which 
  is 
  

   constantly 
  maintaining 
  or 
  reproducing 
  its 
  own 
  structure 
  is 
  

   self-contradictory' 
  (p. 
  16). 
  "Empirical 
  observations 
  with 
  

   regard 
  to 
  the 
  behaviour 
  of 
  living 
  organisms 
  point 
  clearly 
  

   to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  in 
  each 
  detail 
  of 
  organic 
  structure, 
  

   composition, 
  environment, 
  and 
  activity 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  manifesta- 
  

   tion 
  or 
  expression 
  of 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  organism 
  regarded 
  as 
  a 
  

   whole 
  which 
  tends 
  to 
  persist. 
  It 
  is 
  this 
  manifestation 
  which 
  

   distinguishes 
  biological 
  phenomena 
  ; 
  and, 
  through 
  all 
  the 
  

   temporary 
  variations 
  of 
  structure, 
  activity, 
  composition, 
  and 
  

   environment, 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  traced 
  more 
  and 
  more 
  clearly 
  with 
  

   every 
  year 
  of 
  advance 
  in 
  biological 
  investigation. 
  We 
  can 
  

  

  