Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative; Vol. 1 of 3: Library Edition (1891), Containing Seven Essays not before Republished, and Various other Additions.Spencer, Herbert
Philosophy
Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative; Vol. 1 of 3: Library Edition (1891), Containing Seven Essays not before Republished, and Various other Additions.
Spencer, Herbert
Philosophy; Political science; Science
Cuvier says--"Comparative anatomy possesses a principle whose just
development is sufficient to dissipate all difficulties; it is that of
the correlation of forms in organized beings, by means of which every
kind of organized being might, strictly speaking, be recognized by a
fragment of any of its parts. Every organized being constitutes a whole,
a single and complete system, whose parts mutually correspond and concur
by their reciprocal reaction to the same definite end. None of these
parts can be changed without affecting the others; and consequently each
taken separately, indicates and gives all the rest." He then gives
illustrations: arguing that the carnivorous form of tooth necessitating
a certain action of the jaw, implies a particular form in its condyles;
implies also limbs fit for seizing and holding prey; therefore implies
claws, a certain structure of the leg-bones, a certain form of
shoulder-blade. Summing up he says, that "the claw, the scapula, the
condyle, the femur, and all the other bones, taken separately, will give
the tooth or one another; and by commencing with any one, he who had a
rational conception of the laws of the organic economy, could
reconstruct the whole animal."
It will be seen that the method of restoration here contended for, is
based on the alleged physiological necessity of the connexion between
these several peculiarities. The argument used is, not that a scapula of
a certain shape may be recognized as having belonged to a carnivorous
mammal because we always find that carnivorous mammals _do_ possess such
scapulas; but the argument is that they _must_ possess them, because
carnivorous habits would be impossible without them. And in the above
quotation Cuvier asserts that the necessary correlation which he
considers so obvious in these cases, exists throughout the system:
admitting, however, that in consequence of our limited knowledge of
physiology we are unable in many cases to trace this necessary
correlation, and are obliged to base our conclusions upon observed
coexistences, of which we do not understand the reason, but which we
find invariable.
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