DARWIN MEMORIAL. 67 



To the discovery of the methods and course of physical evolution, 

 /'. <?., the order of succession in physical phenomena, many great 

 men have contributed. Among these, Newton stands pre-eminent. 



The discovery of biologic evolution, /'. <?., the succession of phe- 

 nomena in vegetal and animal life, is in like manner due to the 

 researches of many men, but among these Darwin stands pre- 

 eminent. By his discoveries the discoveries of all other biologists 

 have been correlated and woven into systematic philosophy. The 

 methods and course of anthropologic evolution have yet to be 

 systematized. Important discoveries have been made, but this por- 

 tion of philosophy is yet inchoate. 



WORKING HYPOTHESES. 



But Darwin's investigations have not ended research or com- 

 pleted philosophy. He brought scientific men to the -frontiers of 

 truth, and showed them a path across the border. Yet more than 

 this he did. He pointed out one of the fundamental methods of 

 research. Before his time philosophers talked about deductive 

 methods and inductive methods. Darwin has taught us that both 

 are fruitless. 



Deductive methods are the logical or metaphysical methods which 

 have been already described, by which men arrived at conclusions 

 from general principles supposed to be innate in the human mind. 

 The vanity of these methods has already been characterized. 



Inductive methods have found their best expression in the Ba- 

 conian philosophy. By inductive methods men are to collect facts, 

 unbiased by opinions, or preconceived theories. They are to gather 

 the facts, put them together, arrange and combine them to find 

 higher and still higher generalizations. 



But there are facts and facts — facts with value, and facts without 

 value. The indiscriminate gathering of facts leads to no important 

 discoveries. Men might devote themselves to counting the leaves 

 on the trees, the blades of grass in the meadows, the grains of sand 

 on the sea shore ; — they might weigh each one, and measure each 



