CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 
CHAPTER I. 
NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF FILIATION, 
OR DESCENT-THEORY. 
PAGE 
General Importance and Essential Nature of the Theory of Descent as 
reformed by Darwin.—lIts Special Importance to Biology (Zoology 
and Botany).—Its Special Importance to the History of the Natural 
Development of the Human Race.—The Theory of Descent as the 
Non-Miraculous History of Creation.—Idea of Creation ——Know- 
ledge and Belief.—History of Creation and History of Development. 
—The Connection between the History of Individual and Palzeonto- 
logical Development.—The Theory of Purposelessness, or the 
Science of Rudimentary Organs.—Useless and Superfluous Ar- 
rangements in Organisms.—Contrast between the two entirely 
Opposed Views of Nature: the Monistic (mechanical, causal) and 
the Dualistic (teleological, vital).—Proof of the former by the 
Theory of Descent.—Unity of Organic and Inorganic Nature, and 
the Identity of the Active Causes in both.—The Importance of 
the Theory of Descent to the Monistic Conception of all Nature ... 1 
CHAPTER II. 
SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION OF THE THEORY OF DESCENT. 
HISTORY OF CREATION ACCORDING TO LINN AUS. 
The Theory of Descent, or Doctrine of Filiation, as the Monistic Ex- 
planation of Organic Natural Phenomena.—Its Comparison with 
Newton’s Theory of Gravitation Limits of Scientific Explanation 
and of Human Knowledge in general.—All Knowledge founded 
originally on Sensuous Experience, @ posteriori.—Transition of 4 
posteriori knowledge, by inheritance, into @ priori knowledge.— 
Contrast between the Supernatural Hypotheses of the Creation ac- 
VOL. I. b 
