426 ELEMENTS OF BIOLOGY 



all animal behavior. It is coordinated and made more or less unique 

 by the activity of the human mind, and the mind is conditioned in 

 some way on energy transformations occurring in the human brain. 

 We have seen how^ energy transformations in human protoplasm 

 are as wholly dependent for a supply of energy on the photosyn- 

 thetic reaction in the green plant as is the locomotion of the amceba, 

 or any other exhibition of work done by a living object. Thus the 

 science of human behavior in all its branches is grounded in bio- 

 logical principles. 



Moreover, the biological principles that govern animal communi- 

 ties in general, their changes, migrations, and composition, apply to 

 the relation between Man and his environment; food supply, preser- 

 vation and perpetuation of the species, protection both by defense 

 and offense, are characteristic of animals in general, Man included. 

 Thus social organization, government, colonization, and many as- 

 pects of industrialism are outgrowths of biological factors in the life 

 of Man and the science of Biology extends paths into these fields 

 of human problems. The classic statement of Alexander Pope that 

 the proper study of Mankind is Man has, therefore, very broad im- 

 plications if considered in the light of present-day Science. 



The Scientific Method. The present century has witnessed a 

 tremendous growth and activity among all the sciences. This has 

 impressed itself on the public and the phrase, "the scientific 

 method," has come to be widely but sometimes very loosely used. 

 There is a feeling that the "scientific method" is something new. It 

 is worth while examining just what is meant by the term. Modern 

 tools of science are new but the methods of thinking are old, per- 

 haps as old as human intelligence. The logic of modern Science 

 is also the logic of ancient Greece. Galileo used it in 1610 and 

 arrived at the laws governing falling bodies. 



As we have in recent years heard a great deal about the "scientific 

 method," we have also heard much about "research" and witnessed 

 a growth of this activity. There is nothing particularly new nor 



