88 THEORETICAL BIOLOGY 



the planes of direction. Through the co-operation of objective 

 and subjective direction-signs, the place gets its fixed position 

 with regard to the direction-planes in objective space. 



And in this way is constructed the actual scaffolding that 

 supports the world. As we have said, to make the world 

 complete it is necessary that the order-qualities be connected 

 with at least one content-sign, so that the scaffolding becomes 

 the bearer of matter. The measurement of matter in space 

 and time is made possible only by means of the order-qualities. 



The content-qualities of matter are, likewise, the material 

 of its specific form, and, in their relation towards this form, 

 they exhibit laws which are not susceptible of mathematical 

 calculation, or only very slightly so. Sound goes furthest in 

 that direction, thanks to the repetition of the octaves in the 

 musical scale. The colours in the colour-scale offer us much 

 more limited possibilities for calculation. Smells in the smell- 

 scale are not calculable at all. The taste-scale exhibits only 

 four qualities, the scale of temperature only three, and the 

 scale of touch has only two qualities, i.e. hard and soft. 



The increase in intensity of the individual content-qualities 

 can be controlled in calculation by the introduction of " thres- 

 hold." The order-qualities show no such increase. 



Every substance contains in principle at least one content- 

 quality from each scale, though it may not be possible to test 

 this in every case. 



We become aware of the content-qualities when we yield 

 ourselves passively to the influence of the outside world on our 

 sense-organs ; but in testing our muscular sensations, we have 

 to become active. And therefore these qualities are, in 

 principle, separated from the other content-qualities, and are 

 ascribed to matter, as the effects of forces. 



The atomic theory, even in its most modern form, does 

 not take sufficient account of the wealth of initial material 

 from which biology may work. The atomic theory relies 



