LECTURE III 



BIOLOGY AND THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES 



AT the end of the last lecture we were led up 

 to the question as to how far the interpreta 

 tion assumed by the physical sciences in their 

 account of the visible and sensible universe is 

 valid. This is evidently a very wide question, 

 involving far-reaching philosophical discus 

 sion. Yet the reason why such a discus 

 sion cannot be shirked is evident. We found 

 that in the case of life the facts are incon 

 sistent with the physical and chemical account 

 of phenomena. We, therefore, cannot adopt 

 the attitude that whatever may be the ulti 

 mate truth about the universe the ordinary 

 working hypotheses of physics and chemistry 

 are sufficient for the immediate purposes of 

 our work as physiologists. We must probe 

 more deeply. 



At the present time there is a widespread 



