THEORIES OF NATURAL SELECTION AND DESIGN. 49 



natural selection, people are at length beginning to realise that the theory 

 is insufficient in itself to account for the production of new species, and in 

 the last edition of his book on the origin of species Darwin himself has said 

 he never stated that it was the only factor. Nevertheless, it must be con- 

 fessed that, although he did formally say, in one place, that perhaps other 

 factors had contributed to the formation of new species, yet, all through the 

 book, as the most friendly critic must admit, he really does speak of it as if 

 it were the sole factor in the creation of new species. 



Mr. D. M'Laben. — I fully agree with Mr. James's remarks in regard to 

 the evidence of design, not merely in regard to purpose or use, but likewise 

 in regard to order. I should like to hear from him whether he thinks the 

 symmetrical markings on the two sides of a butterfly's wing are to be taken 

 as an example of the evidence of design in the matter of order. Let him, 

 for example, take the different colouring on the antennae of -one of the 

 common butterflies. It would seem that, in regard to order and colouring, 

 there are obvious indications of design, and yet no one can assign, or has yet 

 been able to discover, any obvious purpose or use in these things. There is 

 an expression used by the Apostle Paul in the first chapter of the Epistle to 

 the Romans which, I think, is very applicable to the attempts we see made 

 to account for the origin of species in such a way as to set aside the 

 Designer and Creator — " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." 

 I do not wish to use this quotation in an odious sense ; but, speaking simply 

 from the results of one's own observation, it does seem extraordinary that 

 men should prefer the process called evolution, as bringing about the wonder- 

 ful results we see in nature, to a belief in the action of a designing Creator. 



The Chaikman. — I notice that on the third page of Professor Duns' 

 paper the word " teleology " is employed in a somewhat unusual sense. 

 The writer says : " The leading features of the new point of view are 

 belief in teleology and denial of final cause." My idea was that teleology 

 was the doctrine of final cause ; but Professor Dun^ appears to use the 

 word in another sense, and as if teleology were merely the science of causa- 

 tion, without final cause or purpose. I think Mr. James agrees with me 

 that teleology is the science of final cause. 



Kev. W. R. Blackett, M.A. — There are one or two points upon which 

 I should like to express my gratitude to the author of this paper and also to 

 its reader, for the instruction they have afforded us. One of these points is 

 that, on the third page of the paper, Professor Duns points out that the 

 recognition of design and contrivance has lain at the root of the immense 

 advance in science which is represented by the discoveries and the work gene- 

 rally of a man like Cuvier. This certainly seems to bring before us a fact of 

 immense value which we ought to bear in mind in all our discussions on this 

 question. We are sometimes told that the idea of contrivance and final cause 

 is opposed to science. I hope and trust that a more reasonable day is dawn= 

 ing upon us, when it will be seen, as has been suggested by Mr. James, that 

 the denial of contrivance, or the maintenance of the notion of natural selec- 

 tion as the cause of the development of all things, is itself opposed to the 

 VOL. XX. E 



