TEE ULTRA-SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL 463 



THE ULTRA-SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL 



By B. HOROWITZ 



THE COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



(The Ultra- scientific School) 

 "Problems of Life are Problems of Matter." — Schafer. 



(The Conservative School) 

 "To me the meanest flower that blows can give 

 Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. ' ' — Wordsworth. 



THE addresses before the British Association for the Advancement 

 of Science by Schafer and Lodge have surely had the effect of 

 stimulating still further our interest in the problem of problems — the 

 origin of life. That the most profound differences of opinion exist not 

 merely between scientists and non-scientists, but among scientific men 

 themselves, adds but another factor to the general interest in the sub- 

 ject, though many factors to the general confusion. 



The ultra-scientific school, at the head of which are Loeb and 

 Schafer, trace the origin of their ideas chiefly to Huxley. As far back 

 as 1870 this philosopher wrote: 



With organic chemistry, molecular physics and physiology, yet in their in- 

 fancy, and every day making prodigious strides, I think it would be the height 

 of presumption for any man to say that the conditions under which matter as- 

 sumes the properties we call ' ' vital ' ' may not, some day, be artificially brought 

 together.* 



That was before Emil Fischer began his work on the structure of the 

 protein molecule ; before Kossel commenced his celebrated investigations 

 into the composition of nuclear material ; long before Loeb startled the 

 world with his experiments on parthenogenesis. With that intuitive, 

 spirit with which he was singularly gifted, Huxley foresaw — so claim 

 our ultra-scientists — the results of modern research. Our chemistry, 

 our physics, our physiology, have already reached that stage where we 

 can say with confidence: the data necessary is within sight. AVithin 

 these three sciences a complete explanation is to be found. Hence, out- 

 side factors need not be considered. 



True, the mere fact that we can give no satisfactory definition of life 

 can be of little avail in the present controversy. It may well be argued 

 that we can do no better in the case of electricity, and yet our control of 

 that is well-nigh complete. 



It should be made clear, in justice to our ultra-scientists, that their 

 aspirations at present run no higher than to bring the phenomena of 

 life within the category of established laws. Their aim is to regulate 



1 Huxley, "Discourses" (Chapter on Biogenesis and Abiogenesis). 



