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THE HISTORY OF CREATION. 
CHAPTER II. 
SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION OF THE THEORY OF DE- 
SCENT. HISTORY OF CREATION ACCORDING TO 
LINN AUS. 
The Theory of Descent, or Doctrine of Filiation, as the Monistic Explana- 
tion 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 @ posteriori knowledge, by In- 
heritance, into @ priori knowledge.—Contrast between the Supernatural 
Hypotheses of the Creation according to Linnzeus, Cuvier, Agassiz, and 
the Natural Theories of Development according to Lamarck, Goethe, 
and Darwin.—Connection of the former with the Monistic (mechanical), 
of the latter with the Dualistic Conception of the Universe.—Monism 
and Materialism—Scientifte and Moral Materialism.—The History of 
Creation according to Moses.—Linnzus as the Founder of the Systematic 
Description of Nature and Distinction of Species. —Linnzeus’ Classifica- 
tion and Binary Nomenclature.—Meaning of Linnzeus’ Idea of Species. 
—His History of Creation.—Linnzeus’ view of the Origin of Species. 
THE value which every scientific theory possesses is 
measured by the number and importance of the objects 
which can be explained by it, as well as by the simplicity 
and universality of the causes which are employed in it as 
grounds of explanation. On the one hand, the greater the 
number and the more important the meaning of the 
phenomena explained by the theory, and the simpler, on 
the other hand, and the more general the causes which the 
theory assigns as explanations, the greater is its scientific 
