12 



ZOOLOGY AS A SCIENCE 



years there has been a tremendous increase 

 in population compared to the preceding 

 period of approximately 500,000 years which 

 produced the number of people alive in 

 1700. What has been responsible for this 

 sudden burst of reproductive powers in 

 man? Certainly there has been no physical 

 evolution in man himself in so short a time. 

 It is generally agreed that food is the limit- 

 ing factor in the growth of any population, 

 be it fish or man. Populations always en- 

 croach upon the food supply, just as closely 

 as they can without widespread starvation. 

 This increase in population, then, is due to 

 increased food production; increased food 

 production has come about through the ap- 

 plication of the scientific method to food 

 production problems. This might be all 

 changed again by a single important dis- 

 covery, for example, an economical metliod 

 of producing food from inorganic sources, 

 such as sugar from carbon dioxide and wa- 

 ter. A discovery such as this would change 

 the entire food problem of the world over- 

 night. Feeding the half-starved world of 

 today is within the realm of possibility now; 

 it is not being done for reasons that are be- 

 yond the realm of science, at least for the 

 present. 



In colonial days the average life span was 

 under 40 years for a man; today it is well 

 over 60. It is not that men are any better 

 physically today than they were then. It is 

 due almost entirely to the progress made by 

 science in understanding the cause and pre- 

 vention of infectious diseases. All of the ad- 

 vancements that have been made in medi- 

 cine have been accomplished through the 

 agency of science. Before the scientific 

 method was inculcated into medicine it was 

 largely superstition and mysticism. Since 

 the discovery of the Germ Theory of Dis- 

 ease, aseptic surgery, and anesthesia, many 

 of man's ills have been partially or wholly 

 conquered. There is no doubt that many of 

 the infectious as well as organic diseases 

 that plague man today will eventually be 

 eliminated from civilized societies. If man 



would follow the scientific approach to the 

 solution of his peacetime problems as av- 

 idly as he employs them in the preparation 

 of war machinery, this world would soon be 

 a near-perfect place to live. Unfortunately, 

 the hope that he will do this seems rather 

 remote at the present time. 



It seems clear that the application of the 

 scientific method to the solution of man's 

 physical betterment has been good and bad. 

 It has lifted many burdens from his shoul- 

 ders by simplifying the work essential for 

 his physical needs; it has extended his aver- 

 age life span also, but, at the same time, has 

 provided him with deadly weapons, such as 

 the atomic and hydrogen bombs. He has for 

 the first time an instrument within his grasp 

 that can annihilate the whole of the civil- 

 ized world as we know it. Such a situation 

 in an uneasy world certainly is not good 

 when considered from the point of view of 

 survival of a race. Perhaps the application 

 of the scientific method to man's social ills 

 might have some of the success it has had in 

 the alleviation of his physical ills. 



With all of the wonders that science has 

 produced, it cannot answer all of our prob- 

 lems. We have found no way to measure 

 love, beauty, or the faith people have in 

 God. By common agreement the scientist 

 deals only with the things he can measure, 

 either with his senses directly, or with 

 instruments that magnify their sensitivity, 

 such as the telescope and microscope. The 

 ultimate purposes and goals of life itself are 

 not within the scope of science, and must 

 be left to religion and philosophy. 



HOW THE SCIENTIST WORKS 



Having considered some of the accom- 

 plishments of science, we should now find 

 out just how the scientific method operates. 

 It follows a series of rather definite stages 

 in the solution of a problem. 



1. Statement of the problem. In so far as 

 it is possible, the problem should be clearly 

 stated, that is, the investigator should have 



