﻿THE 
  UNIQUENESS 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  149 
  

  

  of 
  creative 
  power 
  than 
  the 
  sun, 
  from 
  which 
  all 
  its 
  mechani- 
  

   cal 
  energy 
  is 
  borrowed. 
  An 
  earth 
  without 
  life, 
  a 
  sun, 
  and 
  

   countless 
  stars 
  contain 
  less 
  wonder 
  than 
  that 
  grain 
  of 
  mignon- 
  

   ette. 
  7 
  ' 
  

  

  With 
  the 
  first 
  grade 
  of 
  vitalism 
  that 
  the 
  problem 
  of 
  the 
  

   homing 
  of 
  the 
  bird 
  is 
  only 
  a 
  very 
  complicated 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  

   problem 
  of 
  the 
  return 
  of 
  the 
  boomerang 
  we 
  cannot 
  be 
  sat- 
  

   isfied. 
  And 
  a 
  sufficient 
  reason 
  for 
  dissatisfaction 
  though 
  

   not 
  the 
  only 
  one 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  

   yet 
  been 
  found 
  possible 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  mechanistic 
  answer 
  to 
  

   any 
  biological 
  question. 
  We 
  know 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  about 
  the 
  

   structure 
  of 
  muscle, 
  the 
  chemical, 
  thermal, 
  and 
  electrical 
  

   changes 
  that 
  go 
  on 
  in 
  muscle, 
  but 
  we 
  cannot 
  give 
  a 
  chemico- 
  

   physical 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  contraction 
  of 
  a 
  muscle. 
  If 
  i 
  expla- 
  

   nation 
  by 
  analysis 
  ' 
  had 
  begun 
  to 
  be 
  successful, 
  we 
  might 
  

   hesitate 
  before 
  resorting 
  to 
  ( 
  explanation 
  by 
  synthesis 
  ', 
  

   as 
  we 
  do, 
  for 
  instance, 
  when 
  we 
  say 
  that 
  the 
  bird 
  comes 
  

   home 
  because 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  creature 
  in 
  whose 
  present 
  the 
  enregis- 
  

   tered 
  past 
  counts. 
  

  

  4. 
  Have 
  Organisms 
  a 
  Monopoly 
  of 
  Some 
  Peculiar 
  Energy 
  

  

  or 
  Energies? 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  the 
  second 
  grade 
  of 
  vitalism, 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  

   peculiar 
  kind 
  of 
  energy 
  operative 
  in 
  living 
  creatures 
  and 
  

   nowhere 
  else. 
  Organisms 
  have 
  a 
  monopoly 
  of 
  some 
  power 
  

   in 
  the 
  same 
  (perceptual) 
  series, 
  as, 
  say, 
  electricity. 
  This 
  

   is 
  a 
  continuation 
  of 
  one 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  hypothesis 
  of 
  

   * 
  Vital 
  Force 
  ', 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  not 
  found 
  many 
  supporters 
  in 
  

   recent 
  years. 
  But 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  honest 
  theory, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  illus- 
  

   trated 
  by 
  a 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  a 
  thoughtful 
  biologist, 
  

   Prof. 
  M. 
  Hartog 
  of 
  Cork. 
  Every 
  one 
  admits 
  that 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  commonest 
  phenomena 
  of 
  life 
  is 
  also 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  stag- 
  

  

  