LIFE AS MECHANISM 



doctrines of biology do infinite harm, for they do not 

 see that the thoughts of man must be learned in other 

 ways than by dissecting the brain under the micro- 

 scope. 



What the course of biological study would have 

 been if Schleiden and Schwann had not developed the 

 cell theory as the point of attack and explanation of 

 the phenomena of life, we do not know. But, it is evi- 

 dent that its course would have been quite different 

 if biologists had continued to study the organism as 

 a living unit instead of transferring the dead organ- 

 ism to the laboratory, there to investigate it as if it 

 were a mere aggregate of elementary cells whose liv- 

 ing structure and functions could be fully deter- 

 mined by first killing the cell with stains and then ex- 

 amining its corpus under the microscope. It is difficult 

 to estimate the value of the cell theory because, by its 

 means, we have learned much about the physical and 

 chemical laws of the dead bodies of the organic world. 

 From the point of view of this discussion, however, 

 we can surely point to it as leading directly to the 

 theory of mechanistic evolution. The complex living 

 organism becomes but an addition of simple and mod- 

 ified cells; and the cell itself, seemingly lifeless or 

 merely an adumbration of life, can be assujjied to be 

 merely a complex form of physical matter. If one 

 considers only a complex organism alive and per- 

 forming the manifold functions of life, especially if 

 the organism be a man, it would be a bold person 



C 277 ;] 



