﻿THE 
  UNIQUENESS 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  147 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  term 
  vitalism 
  be 
  restricted 
  to 
  (III), 
  as 
  many 
  would 
  

   restrict 
  it, 
  and 
  if 
  a 
  mechanistic 
  theory 
  mean 
  that 
  the 
  cate- 
  

   gories 
  of 
  physics 
  and 
  chemistry 
  suffice 
  for 
  the 
  adequate 
  de- 
  

   scription 
  of 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  organisms 
  (leaving 
  mental 
  processes 
  

   out 
  of 
  account), 
  then 
  we 
  suggest 
  that 
  the 
  proper 
  answer 
  to 
  

   the 
  question 
  " 
  Mechanism 
  or 
  Vitalism 
  ? 
  ' 
  is 
  " 
  Neither 
  ". 
  

   We 
  regard 
  the 
  question 
  as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  false 
  dichotomies 
  

   with 
  which 
  Man 
  in 
  his 
  search 
  after 
  clearness 
  has 
  been 
  led 
  

   astray. 
  The 
  biologist 
  is 
  not 
  bound 
  to 
  accept 
  either 
  a 
  Vital 
  

   Force 
  Theory, 
  or 
  a 
  Machine 
  Theory; 
  he 
  may 
  demand 
  a 
  

   biological 
  theory 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  concepts 
  neither 
  transcendental 
  

   nor 
  mechanical. 
  

  

  3. 
  Are 
  Organisms 
  Unique 
  in 
  Virtue 
  of 
  their 
  Complexity? 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  position, 
  recognising, 
  as 
  every 
  one 
  must, 
  a 
  nota- 
  

   ble 
  difference 
  between 
  an 
  organism 
  and 
  a 
  not-living 
  thing, 
  

   finds 
  the 
  difference 
  in 
  the 
  much 
  greater 
  material 
  complexity. 
  

   The 
  configurations 
  of 
  elementary 
  particles 
  are 
  so 
  much 
  more 
  

   intricate 
  in 
  organisms 
  that 
  the 
  activities 
  of 
  organisms 
  cannot 
  

   be 
  predicted 
  from 
  our 
  formulation 
  of 
  what 
  occurs 
  in 
  inor- 
  

   ganic 
  systems. 
  This 
  idea 
  applies 
  in 
  other 
  fields 
  : 
  If 
  we 
  have 
  

   never 
  seen 
  more 
  than 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  people 
  together, 
  we 
  are 
  

   not 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  predict 
  how 
  a 
  great 
  crowd 
  will 
  be- 
  

   have. 
  The 
  mechanist 
  passing 
  to 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  living 
  crea- 
  

   tures 
  is 
  like 
  the 
  student 
  of 
  inorganic 
  chemistry 
  who 
  is 
  sud- 
  

   denly 
  confronted 
  by 
  the 
  carbon 
  compounds; 
  he 
  is 
  assured 
  

   that 
  he 
  is 
  still 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  science, 
  but 
  he 
  finds 
  this 
  difficult 
  

   to 
  believe, 
  the 
  data 
  are 
  so 
  different. 
  This 
  is 
  a 
  vitalistic 
  

   view 
  in 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  it 
  recognises 
  the 
  apartness 
  of 
  living 
  creatures 
  

   from 
  things 
  in 
  general, 
  but 
  it 
  does 
  not 
  admit 
  that 
  the 
  problem 
  

   of 
  the 
  Amoeba 
  on 
  the 
  hunt 
  is 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  very 
  difficult 
  

   problem 
  in 
  dynamics. 
  It 
  does 
  not 
  admit 
  that 
  new 
  concepts 
  

  

  