THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



are blind to the evidence that the world is fast losing 

 faith in the ability of science to solve the riddle of 

 man, to coordinate his physical and mental worlds by 

 scientific experiments and logical formulae, and is 

 turning again to the precepts of those who are wise 

 from human experience. Two or three examples will 

 be sufficient to show how biologists, who recognize 

 the revolt against scientific naturalism, propose to 

 meet the situation. 



Professor Conklin, who by his scientific achieve- 

 ments and by his position as biologist in Princeton 

 University exerts a great influence, sketches the prob- 

 able direction of human evolution with the avowed 

 purpose of combating these frenzied attacks on the 

 study of evolution. I may say at once, that I am 

 quite in sympathy with his purpose in so far as he op- 

 poses the futile and foolish attempts to prohibit by 

 law the teaching of the science of biology and of evo- 

 lution, or to limit the full inquiry of biological phe- 

 nomena. But, his irritation under fire seems to have 

 confused the clarity of his scientific reasoning to such 

 an extent that he fails to distinguish between evolu- 

 tion as a scientific theory to be investigated in the 

 biological laboratory, which will stand or fall on 

 the evidence of scientific investigation, and the meta- 

 physical hypothesis of evolution as a guide to social 

 and religious affairs, which is not a problem of 

 biology. 



Professor Conklin apparently believes that the real 



I Ml 



