86 MARXISM AND DARWINISM. 



unsolved the universal riddle! Whence comes this 

 wonderful nature of transmission, whence the ability 

 of animate beings to change so fitly?" Here lies the 

 mysterious life riddle that could not be overcome with 

 mechanical principles. Then, what was left of Darwin- 

 ism by the light of later criticism? 



Of course, the advance of science began to make 

 rapid progress. The solution of one problem always 

 brings a few more problems to the surface to be 

 solved, which were hidden underneath the theory of 

 transmission that Darwin had to accept as a basis of 

 inquiry was ever more investigated, a hot discussion 

 arose about the individual factors of development and 

 the struggle for existence. "While a few scientists di- 

 rected their attention to variation, which they con- 

 sidered due to exercise and adaptation to life (follow- 

 ing the principle laid down by Lamarck) this idea was 

 expressly denied by scientists like Weissman and 

 others. While Darwin only assumed gradual and slow 

 changes, De Vries found sudden and leaping cases of 

 variation resulting in the sudden appearance of new 

 species. All this, while it went to strengthen and 

 develop the theory of descent, in some cases made the 

 impression that the new discoveries rent asunder the 

 Darwinian theory, and therefore every new discovery 

 that made it appear so was hailed by the reactionists as a 

 bankruptcy of Darwinism. This social conception had 

 its influence on science. Reactionary scientists claimed 

 that a spiritual element is necessary. The super- 

 natural and insolvable has taken the place of Darwin- 

 ism and that class which in the beginning was the 

 banner bearer of Darwinism became ever more re- 

 actionary. 



