CONCLUSION. 



We may conveniently summarize what we have said in 

 the foregoing chapters in the following statement: The 

 theory of Descent is almost universally recognized to-day 

 by naturalists as a working hypothesis. Still, in spite of as- 

 sertions to the contrary, no conclusive proof of it has as yet 

 been forthcoming. Nevertheless it cannot be denied that 

 the theory provides us with an intelligible explanation of 

 a series of problems and facts which cannot be so well ex- 

 plained on other grounds. 



On the other hand, Darwinism, i. e., the theory of Nat- 

 ural Selection by means of the Struggle for Existence, is 

 being pushed to the wall all along the line. The bulk of nat- 

 uralists no longer recognizes its validity, and even those 

 who have not yet entirely discarded it, are at least forced 

 to admit that the Darwinian explanation now possesses a 

 very subordinate significance. 



In the place of Darwinian principles, new ideas are 

 gradually winning general acceptance, which, while they 

 are in harmony with the principles of adaptation and use, 

 (Lamarck) enunciated before the time of Darwin, never- 

 theless attribute a far-reaching importance to internal 

 forces of development. These new conceptions necessarily 

 involve the admission that Evolution has not been a purely 



mechanical process. i,- ■ t j. - f, 



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