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TheOrganism as a Whole
“He was one of those simple, disinterested, and intellectuallysterling workers to whom their own personality is as nothing in thepresence of the vast subjects that engage the thoughts of theirlives.”
John Morley.
(Article Diderot, Encyclopædia Britannica.)
PREFACE
It is generally admitted that the individual physiological processes,such as digestion, metabolism, the production of heat or ofelectricity, are of a purely physicochemical character; and it is alsoconceded that the functions of individual organs, such as the eyeor the ear, are to be analysed from the viewpoint of the physicist.When, however, the biologist is confronted with the fact that in theorganism the parts are so adapted to each other as to give rise to aharmonious whole; and that the organisms are endowed with structuresand instincts calculated to prolong their life and perpetuate theirrace, doubts as to the adequacy of a purely physicochemical viewpointin biology may arise. The difficulties besetting the biologist in thisproblem have been rather increased than diminished by the