THE HEREDITARY BASIS 19 
lower forms of life. It is fortunate for the solution of many of our 
problems that we are so closely affiliated with the brute creation. 
This is especially the case in regard to the problems involving a 
knowledge of human heredity, for we may learn more of this subject 
by studying heredity in other forms than by studying the heredity 
of man himself. Unfortunately, however, for many problems of 
the highest importance we cannot directly avail ourselves of our 
knowledge of the heredity of lower forms. Many of the qualities 
that make human beings socially desirable or the reverse do not 
have their strict counterparts in the animal world, and often they 
represent complex states influenced greatly in their expression by 
environmental agencies and hence presenting almost insuperable 
difficulties in the way of resolution into their component heredi- 
tary factors. In the following three chapters we shall deal with 
the transmission of some of the traits which are of greatest impor- 
tance in regard to the progress of the race. 
We cannot close this preliminary chapter on inheritance with- 
out some discussion of the relative importance of heredity and 
environment in the development of man, especially since the 
question is one upon which there exists an extraordinary amount 
of confusion of thought. The question, Which is the more 
important, heredity or environment? has provoked endless dis- 
cussion. To argue over the question in its general and unqualified 
form is futile, since both heredity and environment are absolutely 
essential to every organism. The difficulty is much like asking 
which is the more important for the maintenance of life, matter 
or energy? Heredity under the same environment makes the 
difference between a cow, bird, insect or plant. Environment 
may make all the difference between a normal organism and a 
monstrosity or between a living organism and no organism at all. 
Every organism is a function of both hereditary and environmen- 
tal factors. We may express this in the formulaO=f(HE). Alter 
either H (heredity) or E (environment) and the O is changed. 
Without either H or E the organism would not exist. We cannot 
say that in general one is more important than the other because 
each is all important. 
