UNIT ONE 



what Is Life? 



1 How many different kinds of animals are there? 



2 How many different kinds of plants are tfiere? 



3 What does it mean to say that the tiger belongs to the cat family? 



4 In what ways are different kinds of animals "related", or different kinds 



of plants? 



5 How can we recognize each kind of animal or each kind of plant? 



6 Can one kind of living thing be changed into another kind? 



7 In what ways is man like animals? 



8 Is man the most important being in the world? 



The proper study of mankind, said Alexander Pope, is man. Centuries 

 before the time of Pope a wise Greek recommended "Know thyself." But 

 one difficulty in studying ourselves is the fact that we are too close to our- 

 selves to see clearly. And we have our prejudices too. Besides, it does seem 

 rather conceited. For how important are we, or how important is mankind ? 



When Columbus started on his journey toward the setting sun, prac- 

 tically everybody in Europe thought that the earth was the center of the uni- 

 verse: it was put there to be the abode of man. Fifty years after Columbus 

 returned, Galileo and other scientists stirred up a great deal of bitter feeling 

 by suggesting that the earth moves around the sun, not the sun around the 

 earth. This idea caused much excitement because it pushed man with his 

 little earth away from the center of the stage. It seemed to belittle man. 

 And people — mostly poor, frightened, helpless — could not endure that. 



Yet what is more important than man.? Larger animals, or taller trees, 

 or tougher fighters ? Is a rare flower or insect or diamond more important ? 

 How can we get outside ourselves in order to see in true perspective.? We 

 do actually compare ourselves with one another in order to decide upon 

 relative merits and capacities. We compare ourselves with other living 

 things too. We may assume without apology that man stands rather high 

 among all living beings, if only because he alone appears capable of askjtig 

 such questions] 



At any rate, there is only one excuse for all our effort, all our wondering 

 and investigating and puzzling. And that is to enable human beings to live 

 better, to get along better, to get more satisfaction, to enjoy life more. For 

 us, at least, man is the most important thing in the world, and life the most 

 important happening. 



To investigate "life" we must begin with ourselves, for we have to start 



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