not due to a better insight arising from widened experi- 

 ence, but is primarily the expression of a tendency — a ten- 

 dency which resulted almost as a psychological necessity 

 from the precarious position into which Darwinism was 

 forced under the sway of the theory of Descent." This 

 assertion rests, as stated above, on wholly erroneous as- 

 sumptions. It is a serious mistake, to speak in this connec- 

 tion of tendencies and even to brand them as a "psycholog- 

 cal necessity." The decline in esteem is essentially due to 

 experience, and indeed to experience which has made it 

 certain that Darwinism has everywhere failed. 



The importance of the present crisis in Darwinism is 

 to be restricted even further, according to Wagner, by the 

 fact, "that the real objections, urged against the theory of 

 Darwin, are almost in every instance based on theoretic 

 considerations, the validity of which can be put to the test 

 only in fictitious cases. This manner of proceeding man- 

 ifestly leads to the inevitable consequence, that the results 

 thus obtained can claim no decisive weight against Dar- 

 winism. A decisive critique can be constructed only on 

 the basis of experience, and in this connection it cannot be 

 emphasized sufficiently, that, as yet, the path to it has been 

 scarcely indicated, to say nothing of its having been actu- 

 ally pursued." The reason for this fact according to Wag- 

 ner, is to be found "in the numerous and most extraordi- 

 nary difficulties that arise in the way of the empiric investi- 

 gation of the theory of selection." 



After we have read all this, we instinctively ask our- 



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