jAiS!lIAB-r 1, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



21 



theory of natural mechanism, and the de- 

 fender of the theory of natural vitalism 

 may accept the theory of transcendental 

 mechanism. I shall, however, certainly not 

 dwell here on the particulars of this point. 

 What shall be our position with regard 

 to the problem involved in the second ques- 

 tion? It seems to me that the state of our 

 present knowledge does not permit us yet 

 to decide the question in one way or an- 

 other with any degree of probability, and 

 that for a great many years to come any 

 decision of this problem will have to be 

 considered as an arbitrary hypothesis with- 

 out a sufficient scientific basis. The argu- 

 ment in favor of vitalism, brought forward 

 recently by Bunge, Neumeister, Stacke, 

 Kassowitz and many others, consists in the 

 statement that the further the investiga- 

 tion in biology progresses, the more facts 

 are brought to light which can not be ex- 

 plained by physics and chemistry. But 

 what does this signify? Our present 

 knowledge of physics and chemistry surely 

 is a most minute fraction of that which we 

 shall know of the laws of the inorganic 

 world in the thousands of years to come. 

 Considering the length of human history 

 we have to admit that even the science of 

 physics is only in its very infancy. Why, 

 it is only recently that they have tortured 

 the father of physics for stating that the 

 earth is turning around the sun, because it 

 hurt their feelings to acknowledge that the 

 abode of man is not the center of the uni- 

 verse. And it hurts the feelings of men to 

 be told that the mysteries of life are only 

 unrecognized chemistry — hence the pas- 

 sionate crusade in some circles against me- 

 chanism in biology. In our very day un- 

 dreamt of discoveries are made in physics 

 and in chemistry. Think of the rays dis- 

 covered by Roentgen which penetrate heart 

 and kidneys. Think of the marvelous 

 results of stereochemistry, of the laws of 

 ■osmosis, of the ionization of solutions, etc.. 



all discoveries of our time. Why should 

 we already now positively deny the possi- 

 bility that chemistry and physics might 

 not finally elucidate a great many, and 

 perhaps all the facts in biology? Fur- 

 thermore, the attempts properly and sys- 

 tematically to apply physics and chemistry 

 to the interpretation of biological phe- 

 nomena are hardly older than half a cen- 

 tury. Those among the crusaders who 

 themselves lent a hand to such studies 

 should know with Avhat immense difficulties 

 the physiologist has to struggle. He has 

 to create his own physics and chemistry; 

 he has to master a difficult and difficile 

 technique, and then the difficulties in ob- 

 taining and handling living material. The 

 physicist and the chemist had always the 

 aid of gold-seeking people. There is no 

 gold for physiology, but plenty of obstruc- 

 tion on its onward way, placed by the sen- 

 timentalist, the ignorant and the wicked. 

 With all the obstacles, " physiology has 

 already succeeded, in a great measure, to 

 apply physics and chemistry to a good 

 many biological phenomena, and the out- 

 look for the future is brighter than ever. 

 Think of the astonishing discovery in our 

 country by Jacques Loeb of artificial par- 

 thenogenesis by simple changes in the 

 osmotic pressure in the surrounding me- 

 dium of the ovum, a fact which was never 

 dreamt of before! 



No, the crusaders against mechanism are 

 wrong in their pessimistic views. There 

 is nothing in the present stage of our 

 knowledge discouraging for the hopes of 

 those who believe in the ultimate solution 

 of the problems of vital phenomena by the 

 physics and chemistry of a far-off future. 

 But it is also true that the success attained 

 at present is, in comparison with what has 

 yet to be attained, too minute, too insig- 

 nificant to .justify a prediction with any 

 degree of probability. 



Transcendental mechanism and vitalism 



