EPILOGUE 



As the curtain drops after the added scenes, the Manager 

 of the Performance wonders how his show will be received 

 by the critics and the public in general. 



In the science of life, there are many problems and at- 

 tempts to solve them, calculations, abstractions and hypoth- 

 eses, experimental methods, special techniques, tabulated 

 results, graphic presentations, statistical methods, applied 

 mathematics, applied physics, and physical chemistry. 

 What a mass of facts all presented with an honest effort, 

 high expectations, lengthy discussions, and alas, so many 

 delusions! 



As a guide through this jungle we selected the approach 

 by means of synthesis, a search for the origin of life on the 

 earth, and for the characteristics of living and non-living 

 nature. Is this the most appropriate mode of approach? 

 Is our viewpoint superior to the old line of thought which 

 looked upon life as existing only for its own purpose? 



Our voice may not be heard in the uproar of antagonistic 

 tendencies. It may seem that we have lost our way. Yet 

 we have confidence that the time will come when views such 

 as ours will be accepted at large. 



What more has the Manager of the Performance to say? 

 Some remarks should be added, he feels, about the highest 

 developments of life: man and his mentality. Human life 

 is, of course, the chief subject deserving of investigation. 

 Many may readily agree with our assumption about the 

 origin of life and its earliest development, but still maintain 

 that we shall never be able to understand the nature of 

 man's mental activity. 



Yet there is nothing essentially mystical about the func- 

 tioning of the brain. As we have already seen, the brain 



215 



