SCIENCE IN GERMANY 



from notions which were the outcome of metaphysics ; 

 and the work on thermodynamics of Clausius, one of 

 Magnus's distinguished pupils, is an apt illustration of 

 this statement. As also pointed out by Wiedemann,\ 

 the writings of Helmholtz and Robert Mayer are \ 

 good examples, the first of theory developed from 

 experiment, and the second of a more metaphysical 

 mode of investigation. 



Empirical physical research has a tendency to become 

 one-sided, and after it has been indulged in for a time, 

 it is almost invariably followed by a more general 

 treatment of the subject. This occurred among the 

 disciples of Magnus. Earnest in their earlier years in 

 the discovery of facts, in their latter they each and all 

 were engaged in the contemplation of theoretical views 

 then far beyond the range of experimental science. 



The rise of the physico-chemical school of Berlin 

 had an important influence on the development of 

 physiology in Germany. Ernst Heinrich Weber was 

 no doubt the first to ask for an explanation of the 

 phenomena of life by examination of these phenomena 

 by physical methods, and the application of physical 

 laws. After him came Johannes Miiller, who was at 

 first somewhat wedded to the older quasi-metaphysical 

 position, but in his later years he also took up the views 

 and methods of Weber. For a considerable time, how- 

 ever, the notion of a vital force still held sway. Pheno- 

 mena in living things were supposed to be different 

 not only in degree, but in kind, from those in inorganic 

 2 3 



