The wonders of life
A popular study of biological philosophy.
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23526446 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ernst Haeckel (corresponding author) |
| Translators | Joseph Mccabe |
| Year | 1904 |
| Publication date | 1904-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | BOOK |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/13285-000 |
| OpenAlex | W4230652542 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
OF LIFE ference in the complicated fibrils which extend in the cytoplasm of both organs, although our coarse means of investigation have not yet succeeded in detecting this difference.In order to distinguish properly between the two sets of neurona, I propose to call the sensory-cells or sense-centres @sthetal cells, and the thought-cells or thought-centres phronetal cells.The former are, anatomically and physiologically, the intermediaries between the external sense-organs and the internal thought-organs.To this anatomic delimitation of the internal sensecentres and thought-organs in the cortex corresponds their physiological differentiation.The sensorium, or sense-centre, works up the external sense-impressions that are conveyed by the peripheral sense-organs and the specific energy of their sensory nerves; the e@stheta, or the central sense-instruments that make up the sensorium, and their organic units, the esthetal cells, prepare the sense-impressions for thought and judgment in the proper sense.This work of "pure reason"' is accomplished by the phronema of the thought-centres, the phroneta (or the various thought-organs that compose it) and their histological elements, the phronetal cells, bringing about an association or combination of the prepared impressions.By this important distinction we avoid the error of the older sensualism (of Hume, Condillac, etc.)-namely, that all knowledge depends on sense-action alone.It is true that the senses are the original source of all knowledge; but, in order to have real knowledge and thought, the specific task of reason, the impressions received from the external world by the sense-organs, and their nerves and centres, must be combined in the association-centres and elaborated in the conscious thought-centres.Then there is the important, but frequently overlooked, circumstance that there is in advance in the phronetal cells of the civilized 14 TRUTH man a valuable quality in the shape of inherited potential nerve-energy, which was originally engendered by the actual sense-action of the esthetal cells in the course of many generations.An impartial and critical study of the action of the brain in various scientific leaders shows that, as a rule, there is a certain opposition, or an antagonistic correlation, between the two sections of the highest mental power.The empirical representatives of science, or those who are devoted to physical studies, have a preponderant development of the sensorium, which means a greater disposition and capacity for the observation of phenomena in detail.On the other hand, the speculative representatives of what is called mental science and philosophy, or of metaphysical studies, have the phronema more strongly developed, which means a preponderant tendency to, and capacity for, a compre-'hensive perception of the universal in particulars.Hence it is that metaphysicians usually look with disdain on "'materialistic'' scientists and observers; while the latter regard the play of ideas of the former as an unscientific and speculative dissipation.This physiological antagonism may be traced histologically to the comparative development of the esthetal and the phronetal cells in the two cases.It is only in natural philosophers of the first rank, such as Copernicus, Newton, Lamarck, Darwin, and Johannes Miller, that both sections are *English readers who are acquainted with Romanes's posthumous Thoughts on Religion will recognize the justice of this analysis.Romanes speaks expressly of the acceptance of Christianity entailing ''the sacrifice of his intellect.'--TRans.II LIFE Definition of life-Comparison with a flame-Organism and organization-Machine theory of life-Organisms without organs: monera-Organization and life of the chromacea-Stages of organization-Complex organisms-Symbolic organisms-Organic compounds-Organisms and inorganic bodies compared in regard to matter, form, and function-Crystalloid and colloid substances-Life of crystals-Growth of crystalsk-Waves of growth-Metabolism-Catalysis -Fermentation -Biogenesis -Vital force -Old and new vitalism -Palavitalism -Antivitalism -Neovitalism.'The mental life of savages rises little above that THE WONDERS OF LIFE in practice; we need only recall the Inquisition, the dark __ history of the Middle Ages, and the political hierarchy .which still dominates so much of civilization.However, by far the most important clause in the third article is the final expression of belief in ''the resurrection of the body and life everlasting."'That this
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| Citations per year | 0.15 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1973 - 2025 (53) |
| Highly cited | No |