248 SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE ORGANISM 



organic metabolism. Metabolism occurs in a regulatory 

 manner which is to the benefit of the whole : at one 

 moment one chemical construction goes on here and at 

 another moment another chemical destruction occurs there 

 according as the need exists in those places ; all the 

 regulations, of course, being confined within certain limits 

 presented by the fact that a certain sum of specific com- 

 pounds forms the absolutely necessary food of the 



organism. 



In these chief results of metabolistic physiology not a 

 word has been said about our special living substance A 

 and its " assimilation." In fact, the specific constituents 

 of the organism may be said to be " assimilated " in so far 

 as they are liable to an increase of their amount ; but this 

 pseudo-assimilation is always due to the action of some 

 other constituent of the organism, never to themselves. 

 Thus the word " assimilation " seems justifiable only so far 

 as the organism as a whole is considered. In that sense, 

 however, it would mean nothing of importance. 



Negative Results only 



What then is gained by our discussion of the most 

 general results of physiological chemistry for the central 

 problem of this chapter, the problem of the relation of 

 entelechy to substantiality ? The facts suggest no reason 

 for assuming that a " living substance," assimilating and 

 dissimilating in the strict sense, is the real base and 

 foundation of life. On the contrary, physiological chemistry 

 knows nothing about a living substance and nothing about 

 " assimilation " and " dissimilation." The facts revealed by 



