INORGANIC MATTER AND FORCE? 



manner which some will condemn, simply because it is con- 

 troversial. 



IS IT TRUE THAT LIVING BEINGS CONSIST ONLY OF INOR- 

 GANIC MATTER AND INORGANIC FORCE ? 



For some years past it has been maintained by scien- 

 tific authorities of eminence that living things, like non- 

 living things, consist of inorganic matter and inorganic 

 'force, inseparable and indestructible, and it has been most 

 strongly asserted that no separable living force exists. 

 " Living force " is, according to the views now generally 

 taught, in fact, ordinary inorganic force. I shall, however, 

 endeavour to show that the statements rest upon no secure 

 foundation ; and it seems to me that the method pursued by 

 those who teach this doctrine has very grave faults. The 

 conclusion I believe to be untenable, and it is certainly 

 incompatible with well known facts which can be demon- 

 strated by any one, but which many of those who seek to 

 establish these views persist in ignoring. 



Let me first state broadly the two antagonistic and 

 incompatible doctrines concerning the nature of everything 

 that is alive. The one which is undoubtedly just now 

 the most popular is, that living matter and non-living 

 matter alike consist of the ordinary matter and forces of 

 our earth, and that the living and the non-living should 

 be included in the same category. The other is, that 

 in things living, in addition to inorganic matter and in- 

 organic forces, is what may be termed vital force or power 

 which, unlike any ordinary force, is separable from the matter 

 with which it is temporarily associated, and, therefore, is in 



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