Chapter II 

 THE ORGANISM AND ITS MAJOR PARTS 



Reflections on the Problem of Individuality in the living 



World 



THERE has been a great deal of inconclusive discussion 

 of late years, about the nature of the organic indi- 

 vidual. Biologists holding the natural-history viewpoint 

 have never had much difficulty in making up their minds as 

 to what an individual is, but many experimenters, encounter- 

 ing problems presented by the parts of an individual and by 

 individuals as parts of a society, have tended to dodge the 

 issue — have attemjjtcd to find a solution to the puzzle of 

 individualit}^ by the rather naive method of changing their 

 definitions of it. 



To get some clear-cut idea on this question, out of the 

 welter of nebulous notions that prevail at present, is so im- 

 portant for our general discussion that we can afford to 

 stop for a moment to consider it. 



A homely and common illustration will serve as a starting- 

 point. When a scientific dairyman is buying a milch cow 

 or a bull, the deciding factor in the deal is usually what he 

 calls the animal's "individual performance." That is, while 

 various separate "])oints" are taken into consideration and 

 pedigree lists are consulted, the final decision is based not 

 so much on these as on the cow's record as a milk producer 

 or the bull's as a sire of good calves. In the estimation of 

 the purchaser, the animal stands or falls on its own merits 

 as an individual. 



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