Produced by Bryan Ness, Jamie Atiga and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.ne _AT THE DEATHBED OF DARWINISM_ A SERIES OF PAPERS By E. DENNERT, Ph.D. Authorized Translation By E. V. O'HARRA and JOHN H. PESCHGES 1904 GERMAN LITERARY BOARD Burlington, Iowa Copyright 1904 By R. NEUMANN _CONTENTS_ PREFACE 9 INTRODUCTION 27 CHAPTER I.--The Return to Wigand--The Botanist, Julius von Sachs--The Vienna Zoologist, Dr. Schneider 35 CHAPTER II.--Professor Goethe on "The Present Status of Darwinism"--Explains the Reluctance of certain men of Science to Discard Darwinism 41 CHAPTER III.--Professor Korchinsky Rejects Darwinism--His Theory of Heterogenesis--Professor Haberlandt of Graz--Demonstration of a "Vital Force"--Its Nature--The Sudden Origination of a New Organ--Importance of the Experiment. 49 CHAPTER IV.--Testimony of a Palaeontologist, Professor Steinmann--On Haeckel's Family Trees--The Principle of Multiple Origin--Extinction of the Saurians--"Darwinism Not the Alpha and Omega of the Doctrine of Descent"--Steinmann's Conclusions 60 CHAPTER V.--Eimer's Theory of Organic Growth--Definite Lines of Development--Rejects Darwin's Theory of Fluctuating Variations--Opposes Weismann--Repudiates Darwinian "Mimicry"--Discards the "Romantic" Hypothesis of Sexual Selection--"Transmutation is a Physiological Process, a Phyletic Growth" 69 CHAPTER VI.--Admissions of a Darwinian--Professor von Wagner's Explanation of the Decay of Darwinism--Darwinism Rejects the Inductive Method, Hence Unscientific--Wagner's Contradictory Assertions 90 CHAPTER VII.--Haeckel's Latest Production--His Extreme Modesty--Reception of the Weltraetsel--Schmidt's Apologia--The Romanes Incident--Men of Science Who Convicted Haeckel of Deliberate Fraud 104 CHAPTER VIII.--Grottewitz Writes on "Darwinian Myths"--Darwinism Incapable of Scientific Proof--"The Principle of Gradual Development Certainly Untenable"--"Darwin's Theory of "Chance" a Myth" 118 CHAPTER IX.--Professor Fleischmann of Erlangen--Doctrine of Descent Not Substantiated--Missing Links--"Collapse of Haeckel's Theory"--Descent Hypothesis "Antiquated"--Fleischmann Formerly a Darwinian--Haeckel's Disreputable Methods of Defense 124 CHAPTER X.--Hertwig, the Berlin Anatomist, Protests Against the Materialistic View of Life"--No Empiric Proof of Darwinism--"The Impotence of Natural Selection"--Rejects Haeckel's "Biogenetic Law" 137