Darwin and Modern ScienceSeward, A. C. (Albert Charles)
Philosophy
Darwin and Modern Science
Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)
Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882; Evolution (Biology); Science -- History
If we were asked what discovery would do most to forward our inquiry,
what one bit of knowledge would more than any other illuminate the
problem, I think we may give the answer without hesitation. The greatest
advance that we can foresee will be made when it is found possible to
connect the geometrical phenomena of development with the chemical. The
geometrical symmetry of living things is the key to a knowledge of
their regularity, and the forces which cause it. In the symmetry of
the dividing cell the basis of that resemblance we call Heredity is
contained. To imitate the morphological phenomena of life we have to
devise a system which can divide. It must be able to divide, and to
segment as--grossly--a vibrating plate or rod does, or as an icicle can
do as it becomes ribbed in a continuous stream of water; but with
this distinction, that the distribution of chemical differences and
properties must simultaneously be decided and disposed in orderly
relation to the pattern of the segmentation. Even if a model which would
do this could be constructed it might prove to be a useful beginning.
This may be looking too far ahead. If we had to choose some one piece of
more proximate knowledge which we would more especially like to acquire,
I suppose we should ask for the secret of interracial sterility. Nothing
has yet been discovered to remove the grave difficulty, by which Huxley
in particular was so much oppressed, that among the many varieties
produced under domestication--which we all regard as analogous to the
species seen in nature--no clear case of interracial sterility has
been demonstrated. The phenomenon is probably the only one to which the
domesticated products seem to afford no parallel. No solution of the
difficulty can be offered which has positive value, but it is perhaps
worth considering the facts in the light of modern ideas. It should be
observed that we are not discussing incompatibility of two species to
produce offspring (a totally distinct phenomenon), but the sterility of
the offspring which many of them do produce.
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