CAUSE OF MECHANISTIC FAILURE 65 



outside what we at present regard as life is 

 a further question which need not be discussed 

 at present. When any hypothesis fails to 

 correspond with facts it is the hypothesis 

 which needs reconsideration. In the next 

 lecture the physico-chemical hypothesis with 

 regard to our experience generally must first 

 be examined, after which we must consider 

 whether no other hypothesis will fit the 

 facts. It may be that the practical failure of 

 vitalism has depended on the fact that the 

 vitalists have accepted without criticism the 

 physico-chemical account of our experience, 

 and have thus placed themselves in a position 

 in which they are powerless to help biological 

 investigation. 



