4 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN. 



that these natural phenomena are of the utmost importance 

 to the entire range of human knowledge. They are of 

 special importance to the " History of Creation," and, in 

 connection with this, to philosophy in general, — as we shall 

 presently see. Further, as the general results of all human 

 striving after knowledge are summed up in philosophy, it 

 follows that every branch of scientific research comes more 

 or less in contact with, and is influenced by, the History of 

 the Evolution of Man. 



In undertaking to describe the most important character- 

 istics of these significant phenomena, and to trace them 

 back to their final causes, I shall assign a much greater 

 scope and aim to the History of the Evolution of Man than 

 is usual. The lectures given on this subject in German 

 universities during the past fifty years have been exclusively 

 designed for medical students. It is true that the physician 

 is most deeply interested in becoming acquainted with the 

 development of the bodily organization of man, with which 

 he deals, practically, from day to day, in his profession. I 

 shall not here attempt to give a special account of the course 

 of the evolution of the individual, such as has usually been 

 given in embryological lectures, because few of my readers 

 have studied human anatomy, or are acquainted with 

 the physical structure of the developed man. Hence, I 

 shall have to confine myself in many points to general 

 outlines, neglecting many of the remarkable details, which 

 would have to be discussed in treating of the evolution of 

 special human organs, but which from their complicated 

 nature, and because they are not easy to describe, can only 

 be completely understood by the aid of an intimate ac- 

 quaintance with human anatomy. I shall strive, however 



