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  ORGANISM 
  AND 
  MECHANISM 
  

  

  development, 
  so 
  that 
  any 
  argument 
  we 
  use 
  to-day 
  about 
  the 
  

   ' 
  irreducibility 
  ' 
  of 
  vital 
  phenomena 
  refers 
  only 
  to 
  modern 
  

   chemistry 
  and 
  physics 
  (unluckily, 
  to 
  be 
  frank, 
  to 
  what 
  we 
  

   happen 
  to 
  understand 
  of 
  that 
  chemistry 
  and 
  physics). 
  The 
  

   only 
  answer 
  to 
  this 
  criticism 
  is 
  that 
  at 
  any 
  given 
  time 
  we 
  

   must 
  use 
  the 
  science 
  we 
  have 
  got. 
  ISTo 
  judgment 
  in 
  regard 
  

   to 
  irreducibility 
  can 
  be 
  prophetic, 
  unless 
  we 
  feel 
  confident 
  

   that 
  we 
  are 
  dealing 
  with 
  generic 
  differences, 
  such 
  as 
  those 
  

   between 
  a 
  conscious 
  organism 
  and 
  a 
  crystal. 
  

  

  (/) 
  Finally, 
  some 
  would 
  ask 
  whether 
  it 
  matters 
  much 
  

   after 
  all 
  whether 
  a 
  chemico-physical 
  formulation 
  of 
  a 
  living 
  

   organism 
  is 
  possible 
  or 
  not. 
  Is 
  there 
  any 
  depreciation 
  of 
  

   the 
  " 
  lily-muffled 
  hum 
  of 
  a 
  summer 
  bee 
  ' 
  if 
  it 
  be 
  " 
  coupled 
  

   with 
  the 
  spinning 
  stars 
  " 
  ? 
  The 
  answer 
  is 
  twofold 
  : 
  (1) 
  that 
  

   science 
  is 
  all 
  for 
  veracity, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  matter-and-motion 
  

   summing 
  up 
  of 
  an 
  organism 
  seems 
  to 
  many 
  to 
  be 
  at 
  present 
  

   a 
  false 
  simplicity; 
  and 
  (2) 
  that 
  the 
  treatment 
  of 
  a 
  living 
  

   creature, 
  say 
  horse 
  or 
  dog, 
  as 
  exhaustible 
  in 
  chemical 
  and 
  

   physical 
  terms 
  does 
  not 
  seem 
  the 
  way 
  to 
  get 
  the 
  most 
  or 
  

   best 
  out 
  of 
  them. 
  A 
  physician's 
  success 
  in 
  treating 
  his 
  pa- 
  

   tient 
  from 
  the 
  purely 
  chemical 
  aspect 
  is 
  often 
  remarkable, 
  

   but 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  eventually 
  necessary 
  to 
  recognise 
  other 
  aspects 
  ! 
  

  

  We 
  agree, 
  however, 
  that 
  what 
  really 
  matters 
  is, 
  that 
  our 
  

   view 
  of 
  the 
  living 
  creature 
  be 
  thoroughly 
  well-informed. 
  

   Whether 
  our 
  theoretical 
  interpretation 
  of 
  it 
  be, 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  

   like 
  a 
  very 
  subtle 
  engine 
  or 
  an 
  intricate 
  solar 
  system, 
  or 
  

   that 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  system 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  new 
  aspect 
  of 
  reality 
  has 
  mani- 
  

   fested 
  itself 
  so 
  that 
  special 
  biological 
  categories 
  are 
  required, 
  

   the 
  most 
  important 
  thing 
  is 
  that 
  we 
  appreciate 
  the 
  facts 
  of 
  

   the 
  case. 
  When 
  the 
  methods 
  of 
  theoretical 
  discussion 
  have 
  

   been 
  exhausted, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  doubtful 
  whether 
  they 
  have 
  ever 
  

   made 
  any 
  biologist 
  change 
  his 
  mind 
  from 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  which 
  

  

  