﻿THE 
  UNIQUENESS 
  OF 
  LIFE 
  165 
  

  

  behaviour 
  of 
  an 
  animal 
  is 
  shown 
  to 
  be 
  not 
  deducible 
  from 
  the 
  

   laws 
  of 
  thermodynamics, 
  though 
  in 
  conformity 
  with 
  them, 
  

   a 
  greater 
  discontinuity 
  will 
  appear 
  if 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  shown 
  

   that 
  in 
  some 
  cases 
  (distinctively 
  vital 
  processes) 
  the 
  motion 
  

   of 
  particles 
  in 
  an 
  organism, 
  say 
  an 
  Amoeba, 
  neither 
  follows 
  

   from 
  nor 
  conforms 
  to 
  the 
  motion 
  of 
  particles 
  in 
  an 
  inorganic 
  

   system, 
  such 
  as, 
  let 
  us 
  say, 
  a 
  whirlpool. 
  

  

  It 
  may 
  be 
  justly 
  said 
  that 
  if 
  Biology 
  requires 
  categories 
  

   of 
  its 
  own, 
  it 
  should 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  indication 
  of 
  what 
  

   they 
  are. 
  They 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  clear 
  as 
  yet, 
  the 
  science 
  is 
  so 
  

   young, 
  but 
  they 
  should 
  be 
  emerging. 
  And 
  surely 
  some 
  of 
  

   them 
  are 
  beginning 
  to 
  be 
  discerned. 
  First, 
  there 
  is 
  the 
  fact 
  

   of 
  organic 
  retention, 
  the 
  capacity 
  of 
  enregistering 
  experience, 
  

   garnering 
  the 
  past, 
  capitalising 
  gains. 
  We 
  see 
  this 
  in 
  the 
  

   results 
  of 
  training 
  and 
  habituation, 
  in 
  the 
  establishment 
  of 
  

   organic 
  rhythms 
  or 
  periodicities, 
  in 
  the 
  organisation 
  of 
  steps 
  

   which 
  have 
  proved 
  adaptive, 
  in 
  the 
  organic 
  inertia 
  which 
  

   the 
  hereditary 
  relation 
  reveals. 
  Second, 
  there 
  is 
  the 
  self- 
  

   maintaining, 
  self-preserving, 
  and 
  purposiveness 
  of 
  the 
  organ- 
  

   ism. 
  Life 
  has 
  been 
  defined 
  as 
  " 
  effective 
  response 
  ", 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  

   more; 
  it 
  is 
  effective 
  prospectively 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  immediately, 
  

   it 
  is 
  effective 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  external 
  action,, 
  but 
  in 
  self-preser- 
  

   vation. 
  We 
  see 
  in 
  the 
  developing 
  organism 
  a 
  remarkable 
  

   6 
  conativeness 
  ? 
  , 
  especially 
  when 
  what 
  is 
  artificially 
  disar- 
  

   ranged 
  is 
  put 
  to 
  rights 
  again. 
  We 
  see 
  in 
  the 
  simplest 
  be- 
  

   haviour, 
  where 
  the 
  meaning 
  of 
  things 
  counts, 
  an 
  element 
  of 
  

   pre-awareness 
  that 
  is 
  essentially 
  teleological. 
  Third, 
  there 
  is 
  

   the 
  fact 
  of 
  variability, 
  the 
  capacity 
  and 
  habit 
  of 
  giving 
  origin 
  

   to 
  the 
  new. 
  

  

  