THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. 
139 
THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. 
J3Y HERBERT SPENCER. 
EXPOSITION OF CHAPTER IV. 
Proximate Dcjinition of Life. 
BY FREDERICK JOHN CULLIS 
In this and the two following chapters Mr. Spencer 
discusses the important question “What is Life?” com¬ 
mencing by a brief consideration of some previous answers:— 
That of Schelling, “Life is the tendency to individuation”; 
That of Richerand, “Life is a collection of phenomena which 
succeed each other during a limited time in an organised 
body”; that of De Blainville, “Life is the twofold internal 
movement of composition and decomposition, at once general 
and continuous”; a former definition of Mr. Spencer’s 
“Life is the co-ordination of actions”; and that of G. H. 
Lewes, “Life is a series of definite and successive changes, 
both of structure and composition, which take place within 
an individual without destroying its identity.” 
Mr. Spencer then makes choice of the processes of 
assimilation, and of reasoning, as illustrative of the lower 
and higher manifestations of life, respectively; and shows 
in succession that they are both processes of change —of 
successive changes—of simultaneous successions of changes— 
of simultaneous successions of heterogeneous changes—of 
combinations of simultaneous successions of heterogeneous 
changes—of definite combinations of simultaneous successions 
of heterogeneous changes. 
This series of characteristics being found to apply equally 
to both these widely differing manifestations of vitality, Mr. 
Spencer incorporates them in his proximate definition, “ Life 
is the definite combination of heterogeneous changes , both simul¬ 
taneous and successive." But in conclusion he declares the 
definition to be essentially defective, omitting the peculiarity 
of which we have the most familiar experience, and with 
which our notion of Life is more than with any other asso¬ 
ciated ; and which forms the subject of the next chapter. 
