The conclusions of Steinmann, that are most import- 

 ant for ns, may be summarized as follows : 



1. The family and transition forms demanded from 

 palaeontology by Darwinism for its family-trees, construc- 

 ted not empirically but a priori, are nowhere to be found 

 among the abundant materials which palaeontological in- 

 vestigation has already produced. 



2. The results of the investigation do not correspond 

 with the family groups drawn up according to the so-called 

 "biogenetic principle," which principle has in fact led men 

 of science into false paths. 



3. At best, the biogenetic principle has a limited valid- 

 ity, (we add that later it will undoubtedly follow Darwinism 

 and its family trees into the lumber-room). 



4. The results of palaeontology, in so far, for instance, 

 as they testify to the sudden disappearance of the saurians 

 and the advent of mammals, everywhere contradict the 

 Darvnnian principle of the survival of the fittest in the 

 struggle for existence. 



5. "The time has long passed when the Darwinian ex- 

 planations were regarded with naive confidence as the 

 alpha and omega of the doctrine of Descent." 



6. Only the principle of Descent is universally recog- 

 nized; the "how" of it, its causes, are to-day entirely a 

 matter of dispute. 



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