THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION 



OF LIFE 



INTRODUCTION 



Four questions as to the origin of life. Vitalism or mechanism? Creation 

 or evolution? Law or chance? The energy concept of life. Newton's 

 laws of motion. Action and reaction. Interaction. The four complexes 

 of energy. Darwin's law of Natural Selection. 



We may introduce this great subject by putting to ourselves 

 four leading questions: First, Is life upon the earth something 

 new? Second, Does life evolution externally resemble stel- 

 lar evolution? Third, Is there evidence that similar internal 

 physicochemical laws prevail in life evolution and in lifeless 

 evolution? Fourth, Are life forms the result of law or of 

 chance ? 



Four Questions as to the Origin of Life 



Our first question is one which has not yet been answered 

 by science,^ although there are two opinions regarding it. Does 

 the origin of life represent the beginning of something new in 

 the cosmos, or does it represent the continuation and evolu- 

 tion of forms of matter and energy already found in the earth, 

 in the sun, and in the other stars ? 



The traditional opinion is that something new entered this 

 and possibly other planets with the appearance of life; this 

 view is also involved in all the older and newer hypotheses 



' Science consists of the body of well-ascertained and verified facts and laws of nature. 

 It is clearly to be distinguished from the mass of theories, hypotheses, and opinions which 

 are of value in the progress of science. 



