No. 559] DOCTRINES HELD AS VITALISM 



407 



space, but must be determined by the differentiations of 

 some complex, but non-spatial, non-perceptual agent 

 (for, being non-spatial, such an agent is not altered by 

 division, as the physical machine is). 



43. The further development of Driesch's system con- 

 sists in working out logically, with extreme acuteness 

 and subtlety, the characteristics of this complex, non- 

 spatial agent, to which Driesch gives the name entelechy. 

 We may take his conclusions as showing to what doc- 

 trines such a view leads. What we are now interested 

 in is this; just where and how would arise situations in- 

 volving experimental indeterminism? 



44. Driesch sets forth that a physical system without 

 entelechy acts differently from the same system with it : 

 "a material system in space left to itself will behave 

 differently from what it would if controlled by entel- 

 echy;" 27 ''wit limit entelechy there would be other chem- 

 ical results," 28 etc. 



45. Now, precisely how does entelechy take hold to 

 alter the action that would otherwise occur? So long as 

 a vitalistic theory remains vague and refuses to specify 

 the precise difference between the action if it holds and 

 the action if it does not hold, we lack the essential point 

 for forming a judgment of it. Driesch deserves the 

 highest credit for recognizing this, and refusing to take 

 refuge in vagueness; he attempts to show just how the 

 vitalistic agent may act. 



The general condition for anything to happen in the 

 universe is, that uncompensated differences of intensity 

 (of energy, etc.) exist; if two unequal "forces" act 

 against each other, movement occurs in the direction of 

 the greater, etc. 



Now, just what entelechy does, according to Driesch, 

 is to compensate some of the existing differences of in- 

 tensity — thus holding back the action that would occur 

 —and later to release that which was held back. This is 



17 "Science ami Philosophy of the Organism/' II, p. 336. 

 " Ibid., p. 254. 



