No. 626] 



ADAPTATION 



215 



have broken down in the face of vital jtlK'nomciia. and 

 that the only path of escape was one whicli lo.uically led 

 to mysticism. For this reason it seemed worth while to 

 inqnire whether even this abandonment of our scientific 

 in-inciples would lighten our difficulties. 



Now, while we believe the solutions offered by the vi- 

 talists to be but pseudo-solutions, we must admit that 

 the issues they have raised are real ones. It is to the 

 great credit of this school, and of Driesch in particular, 

 that they have awakened some of us biologists from our 

 "dogmatic slumber" and forced these problems upon 

 our attention. The prohl(>nis arc I'cnl ones in the prag- 

 matic sense of determiiiiiiu- our attitii(l(\ both theoretical 

 and practical, toward biolouieal iii\cstigation in general. 

 Most important of all, vitalism has uiioarthed a number 

 of highly interesting experinu'iital data, which it chal- 

 lenges its opponents to ex])laiii. To this extent it may 

 lay claim to the rank of a "working hypothesis." 



Let us consider some of the points at issue between 

 vitalism and what I shall call "scientitic biology." In 

 what follows, I have stated what I believe to be the typi- 

 cal attitude of each side, though it is likely that no two 

 persons would agree in every particular. 



1. Scientific biology is sti-ictly detiM-ministic. It ad- 

 mits the i)ossibility of only one result fr(mi a given set 

 of antecedents. \'italisin is iinleterministic, holdingthat 

 from pi-t'eisel\- the same anteeeiU'nt >ituation more than 

 one result is possible. Driesch saves the principle of 



different results follow the 'same physical causes, there 

 must have In-^en a difference in "-enteleeliy." But John- 

 stone,^^ a disciple of Driesch, throws over even this 

 formal adherence to scientific method, and asserts l)oldly 

 that there must be ''uncaused differences" in the organic 

 world. He illustrates this belief from the varial)ility 

 among the millions <^f eggs si)awned by a single fiounder. 

 The usual ex])lanation. based upon differences ill (vxter- 



