﻿136 
  ORGANISM 
  AND 
  MECHANISM 
  

  

  of 
  many 
  parts 
  to 
  an 
  effective 
  result. 
  But 
  the 
  living 
  creature 
  

   is 
  always 
  working, 
  even 
  in 
  dying, 
  towards 
  its 
  own 
  preserva- 
  

   tion; 
  it 
  can 
  adjust 
  its 
  activity 
  to 
  varying 
  needs 
  and 
  cir- 
  

   cumstances 
  ; 
  it 
  can 
  rest 
  and 
  begin 
  again 
  ; 
  in 
  normal 
  conditions 
  

   it 
  can 
  give 
  rise 
  to 
  another 
  organism 
  with 
  activities 
  like 
  its 
  

   own. 
  The 
  explicit 
  organism 
  develops 
  in 
  appropriate 
  condi- 
  

   tions 
  from 
  the 
  implicit 
  organism 
  or 
  germ-cell 
  ; 
  if 
  disturbed 
  

   it 
  can 
  re-arrange 
  itself 
  ; 
  if 
  it 
  loses 
  a 
  part 
  it 
  can 
  replace 
  it 
  ; 
  

   if 
  it 
  is 
  broken 
  into 
  fragments 
  it 
  can 
  sometimes 
  reconstruct 
  

   its 
  living 
  edifice. 
  

  

  (&) 
  Those 
  who 
  claim 
  autonomy 
  for 
  biology 
  are 
  sometimes 
  

   rebuked 
  by 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  music 
  of 
  the 
  spheres. 
  We 
  are 
  

   told 
  that 
  " 
  in 
  Nature 
  herself, 
  if 
  we 
  look 
  at 
  her 
  larger 
  handi- 
  

   work, 
  self-regulation 
  and 
  self-maintenance 
  become 
  paramount 
  

   attributes 
  and 
  characteristics 
  of 
  her 
  machines. 
  The 
  solar 
  

   system, 
  qua 
  mechanism, 
  is 
  the 
  perfect 
  specimen, 
  the 
  very 
  

   type 
  and 
  norm, 
  of 
  a 
  self-maintaining, 
  self 
  -regulating 
  mecha- 
  

   nism 
  ; 
  and 
  so 
  also, 
  grade 
  after 
  grade, 
  are 
  its 
  dependent 
  

   mechanisms, 
  such 
  as 
  the 
  world-wide 
  currents 
  of 
  the 
  atmos- 
  

   phere 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  ' 
  (D'Arcy 
  W. 
  Thompson, 
  Life 
  and 
  

   Finite 
  Individuality, 
  p. 
  37). 
  

  

  The 
  order 
  and 
  balance 
  of 
  Nature's 
  larger 
  handiwork 
  

   must 
  indeed 
  be 
  recognised 
  and 
  admired. 
  The 
  same 
  laws 
  

   that 
  are 
  used 
  in 
  formulating 
  cosmic 
  architecture 
  and 
  reg- 
  

   ularity 
  may 
  be 
  usefully 
  employed, 
  as 
  we 
  have 
  admitted, 
  in 
  

   the 
  realms 
  of 
  organisms. 
  But 
  our 
  point 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  .animalcule 
  

   is 
  in 
  a 
  way 
  greater 
  than 
  all 
  the 
  stars, 
  as 
  stars, 
  for 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  

   agent, 
  it 
  has 
  alternatives, 
  it 
  shows 
  experimental 
  indetermin- 
  

   ism, 
  it 
  commands 
  its 
  course. 
  And 
  when 
  this 
  began 
  it 
  was 
  

   something 
  new 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  (c) 
  But 
  where, 
  precisely, 
  it 
  is 
  asked, 
  does 
  the 
  mechanis- 
  

   tic 
  description 
  fail 
  ? 
  The 
  answer 
  is 
  twofold, 
  that 
  as 
  yet 
  

  

  