THE INDIRECT JUSTIFICATION OF ENTELECHY 247 



questions affirmatively ; and they have almost always 

 been of the materialistic school. But is it not remarkable 

 that the positive investigators of physiological chemistry 

 never say one single word about the problematic material 

 A and the problematic process of real " assimilation " ? 



What then does physiological chemistry really teach as 

 the result of its experiments ? 



There are many specific chemical compounds present in 

 the organism, belonging to different classes of the chemical 

 system, and partly known in their constitution, partly un- 

 known. But those that are not yet known will probably 

 be known some day in the near future, and certainly there 

 is no theoretical impossibility about discovering the 

 constitution of albumen and how to " make ' : it. All the 

 substances present in the organism have a definite range 

 of possibilities regarding their physiological origin and their 

 physiological destruction. They may originate in a certain 

 number of different ways, and may be destroyed in a 

 certain number of ways. Organisms behave differently in 

 this respect. Fungi, for instance, are able to build up all 

 the chief classes of their constituents fats, carbohydrates, 

 and albumen, out of one organic compound of rather 

 variable constitution, while all animals require constituents 

 of all three classes in their food, or, at least, are not able 

 to live without receiving albumen. The modes of construct- 

 ing and destroying the constituents of the organism almost 

 always differ to a great extent from those used in the 

 laboratory : to mention but one difference, what is done by 

 heat in the laboratory is generally done by ferments in 

 the organism. And, finally, upon this use of ferments by 

 the organism depends the most remarkable feature of 



