EVOLUTION AND MAN S PLACE 

 IN NATURE 



CHAPTER I 



EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION 



FOR scientific thought, the most obvious need is 

 an adequate representation of man s place in nature. 

 The general acceptance of Darwin s theory of Evolu 

 tion gives force to the demand for discussion of this 

 problem. Whatever differences of opinion as to this 

 theory may still exist, few naturalists can feel reluct 

 ant to acquiesce in Wallace s statement that Darwin 

 did his work so well that &quot; descent with modification&quot; 

 is now universally accepted as the order of nature in 

 the organic world. * 



Acknowledging this, there is need for fuller study 

 of man s place in nature. The distinctive features of 

 human life must be depicted, and must thereafter be 

 interpreted in relation to the wide range of natural 

 history. This task can be successfully accomplished 

 only by regarding Nature as a whole, a unity con 

 stituted by the most intimate correlation of all its 

 parts. If man s place is to be thus studied, it must 



1 Darwinism, by Alfred Russel Wallace, Pref. v. 

 A 



