ON THE GENETIC VIEW OF NATURE. 



317 



different in their mental attitude, the two men agreed 

 in looking for the advancement of natural science in 

 an understanding of the simpler, unspecified, and un- 

 differentiated forms or stages of existence out of which 

 they conceived the more complex to have grown or de- 

 veloped by a process of specialisation or differentiation. 

 Many other naturalists and philosophers contributed, 

 partly independently, partly through the influence of 

 Lamarck's systematic and von Baer's embryological 

 labours, to elaborate the same view and strengthen the 

 same tendency of thought and research. Nor were 

 there wanting suggestions as to the ultimate philo- 

 sophical drift of the line of reasoning. It is doubtful 

 whether these speculations, like those of Oken in his 

 ' Physio-philosophy,' did not retard rather than promote 

 the acceptance of the genetic view by scientific thinkers : 1 



1 On the position of Goethe aiid 

 Oken in the history of the genetic 

 view, see Cams, ' Geschichte der 

 Zoologie," p. 723 ; von Baer, 

 ' Reden und wissenschaftliche Ab- 

 handlungen,' Bd. II. p. 258, &c. 

 Both consider Lamarck as the real 

 originator of a scientific theory of 

 Descent. Von Baer gives an amus- 

 ing account of the extent to which, 

 as early as 1829, actual genealogical 

 trees were given in Jacob Kaup's 

 ' Skizzirte Entwickelungsgeschichte 

 und natiirliches System der Eur- 

 opaeischen Thierwelt.' Von Baer 

 sums up his historical account in 

 the following words (p. 264): "In 

 general I believe that at that time, 

 when the succession of different 

 animals and plants in the history of 

 the earth and generally from im- 

 perfect to more perfect organisms 

 occupied the thoughts of natural- 

 ists, and when, at the same time, 

 the study of development of single 



organisms had taken a new start, 

 the notion of their Transformation 

 was pretty generally accepted.'' 

 The view expressed here by von 

 Baer would probably have to 

 be limited to German naturalists at 

 that date. It must, however, be ad- 

 mitted that the fairest exposition 

 and criticism of the arguments of 

 Lamarck at that early date is prob- 

 ably to be found in Lyell's ' Prin- 

 ciples of Geology' (vol. ii. Bk. III. 

 chap. i. to iv. ) He there also con- 

 siders the arguments derived from 

 embryology as contained in the re- 

 searches of Thiedemaun, confirmed 

 by Serres (' Anatomie Compared du 

 Cerveau,' 1824), and comes finally 

 to the result that 1. " There is a 

 capacity in all species to accommo- 

 date themselves." 2. " That the 

 mutations thus superinduced are 

 governed by constant laws." 3. 

 That " some acquired peculiarities 

 of form, structure, and instinct are 



