INTRODUCTION 



opposition to it has long since died. The theory of 

 the Evolution of Life and the Origin of Species, sup- 

 ported by the writings of Darwin, Wallace, Huxley 

 and others, has been accepted and defended even in 

 the pulpits of our land. 



To many persons who have been educated with 

 different ideas, even especially with those studying 

 only certain branches of science, the break between 

 the old train of thought, or what was believed to be 

 true, and the teaching of modern science is so great 

 as to be bewildering. They have to discard from 

 their minds so much which has proved to be erroneous 

 that it would seem that nothing might be left. The 

 neglect of all philosophy other than that contained 

 in the proximate principles of Chemistry, Physics, 

 Biology, Medicine, or whatever else might be the 

 immediate subject of study, leaves its students in pos- 

 session of an imperfect knowledge only of the secondary 

 causes. Each branch of Science, being dissociated 

 from other branches, prevents that generalization of 

 knowledge upon which the Philosophy of Evolution, 

 as well as all other Philosophies, must be grounded. 

 In consequence thereof many students of the sciences 

 are apt to drop into a shallow Positivism, or into 

 what they mistake for Agnosticism, but which is really 

 only mere negation founded on Ignorance. On the 

 other hand, many people who desire to know the 

 (xxii) 



