THE DOGMA OF EVOLUTION 



Not many of the biologists carry through to its 

 logical conclusion the monistic doctrine as did 

 Haeckel. Most of them take refuge behind that con- 

 venient term, agnosticism, which was so happily 

 coined by Huxley. 



This middle ground, between those who are unre- 

 servedly monistic in thought and those who hold that 

 there is an unbridgeable gap between the organic and 

 inorganic worlds, includes, I think, the majority of 

 biologists and of those who are trying to base philoso- 

 phy and religion on science. The great champion of 

 scientific agnosticism is Huxley, and it is to his Essays 

 that we should turn for our discussion of this class of 

 thinkers. 



Each time I read the Essays of Huxley, I find my- 

 self more baffled. His apparently simple ideas and his 

 exquisite style make each separate statement seem 

 convincing; his constant appeal to truth as his only 

 guide, and his contempt for the subterfuges of others 

 who dress up loose logic with high-sounding terms, 

 impress one with the feeling that here is, at least, 

 clear and honest thinking. And yet Huxley's own 

 thought is complicated and obscure. With much care 

 I have taken passages from his Essays which bear on 

 the question at issue and will let the reader judge for 

 himself. 



Huxley adopts an attitude of proud humility; he 

 sees himself as a mere soldier in the army of those 

 who seek for truth. He treats equally with scorn the 



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