THE UNIQUENESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL 



occupation with problems of evolution. The first two essays 

 have to do with the evolution of *" ageing', i.e. of senescence, and 

 the second can be regarded as a lengthy footnote to the latter 

 part of the first; but the reader should be warned that unlike 

 some of my predecessors I have not thought it necessary to pull 

 a long face or strike pious attitudes when writing of senescence 

 and old age. A Commentary on Lamar ckism has already been 

 referred to; The Imperfections of Man argues that evolution 

 must always be a compromise in which a lesser evil is put up 

 with to make possible a greater good. In Tradition: The Evidence 

 of Biology I deal briefly with the idea that man enjoys a new 

 modality of evolution, one in which tradition takes the place 

 of heredity iYi conferring upon man the qualities that make 

 him '■fitter'' than other animals and his hope of becoming fitter 

 still. The Uniqueriess of the Individual is about the sources and 

 nature of inborn diversity. Two other essays are added for full 

 measure: A Note on ''The Scientific Method''^ which shows to 

 what a large extent we are all indebted to the reasoning of 

 Karl Popper, however imperfectly the debt is paid, and The 

 Patterii of Organic Growth ajid Transformation — too long a 

 title, perhaps, for an essay which could only be broad in com- 

 pass by resisting the temptation to go deep. 



The last essay, on The Uniqueness of the Individual^ was 

 written specially for this volume, and deals with the kind of 

 research I do myself; the sources of the remainder are listed in 

 the Table of Acknowledgements. 



Looking back on these essays, I see their imperfections much 

 more clearly than their merits, but I have tried to repair some 

 of the more obvious errors of judgement, or errors or omissions 

 of fact, by additional footnotes, set in square brackets. 



16 



