December 13, 1912] 



SCIENCE 



811 



Upon the first, then, of our two views of 

 lens formation, the lens is determined from 

 within; upon the second view it is deter- 

 mined from without. By the first view 

 we see the lens arising as, in strict sense, a 

 purely accidental resultant effect of the 

 operation of many mechanisms which are 

 essentially independent of one another and 

 independent of any external factor which 

 compels their harmonious behavior. By 

 the second view we conceive of an energy 

 or energy-complex, situated perhaps in the 

 substance of the optic vesicle, exerting it- 

 self upon a group of ectoderm cells and 

 thereby coercing them into lens formation. 

 In this case the ectoderm cells may be es- 

 sentially alike and independent of one an- 

 other, but they are collectively dependent 

 upon an external controlling agent. The 

 external energy-complex plus suitable ecto- 

 derm constitutes the formula for a lens. 

 By transplanting the optic vesicle the first 

 member of the formula may be brought 

 into relation with a region of superficial 

 ectoderm remote from that which normally 

 gives rise to a lens. A lens must result 

 there, as elsewhere, provided that the ecto- 

 derm in the newly affected region is not too 

 unlike the normal lens ectoderm. 



A group of particles of iron in a mag- 

 netic field assumes an orderly configuration 

 under the influence of that field. A rough 

 analogy exists between this phenomenon 

 and the hypothetical relation between a 

 group of ectoderm cells and a lens-deter- 

 mining force-complex originating in the 

 optic vesicle or elsewhere. If, however, we 

 succeed in imagining that each particle, in 

 virtue of certain inherent peculiarities and 

 independently of any agent which inune- 

 diately controls the behavior of the par- 

 ticles collectively, assumes a certain posi- 

 tion, and if we can imagine further that, 

 as the outcome of a chain of entirely for- 



tuitous circumstances in the past history 

 of the particles, their several positions are 

 such as to give the whole group an orderly 

 configuration, we shall have illustrated our 

 first conception of the nature of organiza- 

 tion. Another illustration presents itself 

 employing, instead of iron particles, mech- 

 anisms of considerable complexity and in 

 so far offering greater similarity to what 

 we see in plants and animals. Suppose 

 that ten clocks, precisely alike in construc- 

 tion, strike the hours in unison. So long 

 as the clocks are similarly affected by tem- 

 perature, moisture and other external con- 

 ditions, and so long as their energy holds 

 out, they will continue striking the hours 

 in unison — a tissue of clocks. "We can 

 imagine that the air vibrations produced 

 by the striking serve to set off some other 

 mechanism. But the mechanism of each 

 clock is entirely independent of that of all 

 the others. Further, so far as the several 

 clocks themselves are concerned, there is 

 no connection whatever between their stri- 

 king and the setting off of some other 

 mechanism. The air vibrations (a hor- 

 mone) which transmit the effect from the 

 clocks are something outside of and dis- 

 tinct from the clocks themselves and the 

 responding mechanism as well. A human 

 observer, noting that the clocks keep the 

 same time and strike in unison, and noting 

 that the initiation of a certain activity in 

 another mechanism depends upon some- 

 thing that the clocks do, applies to these 

 several relations the name, organization. 



To illustrate the other conception of or- 

 ganization, we may suppose each of the ten 

 clocks to contain a striking mechanism 

 which, for its operation, requires that the 

 clocks shall be affected by an electro-mag- 

 netic field. The clocks do not strike at aU, 

 then, until by the action of agents outside 

 of themselves they come within the infiu- 



