188 EVOLUTION 



factors in the process. How are their the- 

 ories related to the three categories — Organ- 

 ism, Function, Environment? 



To some the fundamental fact is the living 

 Organism — a creative agent, a striving will, 

 a changeful Proteus, selecting its environ- 

 ment, adjusting itself to it, self-differentiating 

 and self-adaptive — Life dominating nature, 

 master of its fate. 



To others it has always seemed that the 

 emphasis should be laid on Function — on 

 activity and practice, on use and disuse, on 

 doing and not doing. 



To others, again, what counts for most is 

 the Environment. This wakes the organism 

 to action, feeds it or starves it, gives it new 

 experiences or imprisons it within the old. 

 Environment prompts the organism to self- 

 expression, yet moulds it and prunes it, 

 punctuates its life, and finally puts in the 

 full stop, of death. 



Let us take some historical illustrations. 

 There is no doubt that Buffon laid great 

 emphasis on Environmental influences — es- 

 pecially of climate and food — as direct trans- 

 forming factors. 



The central idea of Erasmus Darwin's 

 evolutionism was Functional: that wants 

 stimulate exertions and that these result in 

 improvements, which subsequent generations 



