THEORY OF THE SKULL, 85 
therefore only to be found as an independent bone in very 
youthful skulls. In human embryos it can now be pointed 
out at any moment. In man, therefore, the mid jawbone 
actually exists, and to Goethe the honour is due of having 
first firmly established this fact, so important in many 
respects; and this he did while opposed by the celebrated 
anatomist, Peter Camper, one of the most important pro- 
fessional authorities. The way by which Goethe succeeded 
in establishing this fact is especially interesting ; it is the 
way by which we continually advance in biological science, 
namely, by way of induction and deduction. Induction 
is the inference of a general law from the observation of 
numerous individual cases; deduction, on the other hand, 
is an inference from this general law,applied to a single case 
which has not yet been actually observed. From the col- 
lected empirical knowledge of those days, the inductive 
conclusion was arrived at that all mammals had mid jaw- 
bones. Goethe drew from this the deductive conclusion, 
that man, whose organization was in all other respects not 
essentially different from mammals, must also possess this 
mid jawbone; and on close examination it was actually 
found. The deductive conclusion was confirmed and verified 
by experience. 
Even these few remarks may serve to show the great 
value which we must ascribe to Goethe’s biological re- 
searches. Unfortunately most of his labours devoted to 
this subject are so hidden in his collected works, and his 
most important observations and remarks so scattered in 
numerous individual treatises—devoted to other subjects— 
that it is difficult to find them out. It also sometimes 
happens that an excellent, truly scientific remark is so 
I. ca 
