720 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLVI 



ment of those who would cast mechanism out of biology 

 is identical. Eesolution leaves intact uniqueness wher- 

 ever found, and the declaration that this is true of the 

 organism is a platitude. 



Postulate II 



There is an absolute distinction Ix'ttrccn dead and tir- 

 ing matter; in the inorganic tvorld, the law of causation 

 holds, but in the organic, causation holds together with 

 a uuifjiie law. 



The second part of this proposition will be considered 

 in connection with postulate III. To the first part the 

 mechanist subscribes heartily, but adds that in his ex- 

 perience the distinction between hydrogen and oxygen 

 is equally absolute. 



Postulate III 



The uniqueness expresses itself in this, that every or- 

 ganic process is final (teleological) ; that is, governed by 

 immanent purposefulness. 



In discussing postulate III, all that is needed is (a) to 

 sound its logical consequences; (b) to inquire how it 

 agrees with observations on individual and racial final- 

 ity; and lastly, (c) to expose the psychology of the teleo- 

 logical idea itself. 



{a) From the harmony between the organic and the 

 inorganic, Driesch concludes that "nature is nature for 

 a purpose." If the whole universe, however, is governed 

 by inurnment purposefulness what becomes of the dis- 

 tinction between the organic and the inorganic? In a 

 purposive system the teleological nature of any particu- 

 lar event or group of events can not be inferred, for pur- 

 posefulness can only be recognized by comparison with 

 purposelessness. Thus general teleology denies the ex- 

 istence of half the materials for the inference of the very 

 thing on which it bases itself, and with the best inten- 

 tions in the world, and without in any way seeming to 

 sense it, vitalists themselves have not only disarmed 



