xii Preface 



study of man is undertaken when the general zoologist 

 becomes for the time being an anthropological zoologist 

 all the best tested and most approved methods of that 

 science are taxed to their uttermost, simply because of the 

 great complexity of the species under examination. Now it 

 is absolutely beyond question, I believe, that of the methods 

 employed in the biological sciences, none are more important, 

 especially for the study of man, than those of description 

 and classification with their necessary accompaniment, com- 

 parison. The essay The Place of Description, Definition and 

 Classification in Philosophical Biology in my little book, TJie 

 Higher Usefulness of Science, treats of this subject some- 

 what at length. But that to which I attach much more 

 importance is that almost everything contained in the pres- 

 ent book, except the heart of Chapter 24, I regard as an 

 embodiment of the fundamental principles of descriptive and 

 classificatory biology as these principles are established by 

 modern research. 



It seems to me I am privileged to claim that no reader of 

 this and other general writings of mine is in position to pass 

 judgment on them, except, of course, as touching trustworthi- 

 ness of observation and statement, and of dependability of 

 authorities cited, without having considered conscientiously 

 my position as to method. For instance, am I right or wrong 

 in holding (see the above mentioned essay) that far the 

 larger part of what is usually called explanation in dealing 

 with the phenomena of nature is really partial or tentative 

 or hypothetical description and classification? What justi- 

 fication and scope are there for my contention that the motto 

 "neglect nothing," which has long done good service in taxo- 

 nomic research based on morphology, must be extended to 

 all departments of structural and functional biology? What 

 grounding and applicability are there for my distinction 

 between synoptic and analytic description, and synoptic and 

 analytic classification? Not until one has come to see that 



