ZOOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 



pattern be presented in such a manner that 

 it can become a part of the philosophy of 

 the non-scientist as well as that of the scien- 

 tist. That is the purpose of this book. 



Like all scientific knowledge, zoology has 

 become more and more specialized into 

 many compartments, such as anatomy 

 (study of gross structure), physiology 

 (study of function), embryology (study of 

 early development ) , histology ( study of tis- 

 sues), and many others. In seeking a broad 



of the spirit of science, and that he will take 

 away with him something which may be 

 integrated into his own philosophy of life. 



WHAT IS SCIENCE? 



Zoology is the science of animal life. Two 

 words in this definition require further ex- 

 planation before the definition can be under- 

 stood. First a consideration must be given 

 to the word science, and second to the word 



Fig. 1-1. A course in general zoology merely gives the beginning student a panoramic view 

 of the field by taking brief glances at its separate disciplines. 



view of the entire field it is necessary to 

 select only the salient parts of each of these 

 segments and fit them into a unified whole. 

 The task set before us, then, may be com- 

 pared with a professor escorting a student 

 down the long corridor of zoology, allowing 

 him only a short stay before each portal of 

 entrance to the specialized knowledge 

 within (Fig. 1-1). From these bits of infor- 

 mation and with the aid of the interpreta- 

 tion given by the professor, it is hoped that 

 the student will be impressed with this uni- 

 fied picture, that he will absorb something 



life. Of the two the latter is by far the more 

 difficult to define, if indeed that is possible 

 at all. Let us try to ascertain what science 

 is. 



Many attempts have been made to define 

 science, and, in general, there is a certain 

 amount of agreement among all of the def- 

 initions. Science is usually considered to be 

 organized knowledge, either the knowledge 

 itself or the process of gathering such knowl- 

 edge. Obviously, there is a difference be- 

 tween the knowledge itself and the process 

 which leads to its accumulation. The appar- 



