第3章

Thesameistrueofaloadedgun。Fromthedialecticalstandpoint，thepossibilityofexpressingmotioninitsopposite，inrest，presentsabsolutelynodifficulty。Fromthedialecticalstandpointthewholeantithesis，aswehaveseen，isonlyrelative;thereisnosuchthingasabsoluterest，unconditionalequilibrium。Eachseparatemovementstrivestowardsequilibrium，andthemotionasawholeputsanendagaintotheequilibrium。Whenthereforerestandequilibriumoccurtheyaretheresultoflimitedmotion，anditisself-evidentthatthismotionismeasurablebyitsresult，canbeexpressedinit，andcanberestoredoutofitagaininoneformoranother。ButHerrDühringcannotallowhimselftobesatisfiedwithsuchasimplepresentationofthematter。Asagoodmetaphysicianhefirsttearsopen，betweenmotionandequilibrium，ayawninggulfwhichdoesnotexistinrealityandisthensurprisedthathecannotfindanybridgeacrossthisself-fabricatedgulf。HemightjustaswellmounthismetaphysicalRosinanteandchasetheKantian“thing-in-itself“;foritisthatandnothingelsewhichinthelastanalysisishidingbehindthisundiscoverablebridge。

Butwhataboutthemechanicaltheoryofheatandthetied-uporlatentheatwhich“hasremainedastumbling-block“forthistheory？

If，undernormalatmosphericpressure，apoundoficeatthetemperatureofthefreezingpointistransformedbyheatintoapoundofwaterofthesametemperature，aquantityofheatdisappearswhichwouldbesufficienttowarmthesamepoundofwaterfrom0°to79。4°C，ortoraisethetemperatureof79。4poundsofwaterbyonedegree。Ifthispoundofwaterisheatedtoboilingpoint，thatis，to100°C，andisthentransformedintosteamof100°C，theamountofheatthatdisappears，bythetimethelastofthewaterhaschangedintosteam，isalmostseventimesgreater，sufficienttoraisethetemperatureof537。2poundsofwaterbyonedegree。

Theheatthatdisappearsiscalledtied-up。If，bycooling，thesteamisagaintransformedintowater，andthewater，initsturn，intoice，thesamequantityofheataswaspreviouslytiedupisnowagainsetfree，i。e。，canbefeltandmeasuredasheat。Thissettingfreeofheatonthecondensationofsteamandthefreezingofwateristhereasonwhysteam，whencooledto100°，isonlygraduallytransformedintowater，andwhyamassofwateroffreezingpointtemperatureisonlyverygraduallytransformedintoice。Thesearethefacts。Thequestionis，whathappenstotheheatwhileitistiedup？

Themechanicaltheoryofheat，accordingtowhichheatconsistsinagreaterorlesservibration，dependingonthetemperatureandstateofaggregation，ofthesmallestphysicallyactiveparticles(molecules)

ofabody——avibrationwhichundercertainconditionscanchangeintoanyotherformofmotion——explainsthattheheatthathasdisappearedhasdonework，hasbeentransformedintowork。Whenicemelts，thecloseandfirmconnectionbetweentheindividualmoleculesisbroken，andtransformedintoaloosejuxtaposition;whenwateratboilingpointbecomessteamastateisreachedinwhichtheindividualmoleculesnolongerhaveanynoticeableinfluenceononeanother，andundertheinfluenceofheatevenflyapartinalldirections。Itisclearthatthesinglemoleculesofabodyareendowedwithfargreaterenergyinthegaseousstatethantheyareinthefluidstate，andinthefluidstateagainmorethaninthesolidstate。

Thetied-upheat，therefore，hasnotdisappeared;ithasmerelybeentransformed，andhasassumedtheformofmoleculartension。Assoonastheconditionunderwhichtheseparatemoleculesareabletomaintaintheirabsoluteorrelativefreedominregardtooneanotherceasestoexist——thatis，assoonasthetemperaturefallsbelowtheminimumof100°or0°，asthecasemaybe，thistensionrelaxes，themoleculesagainpresstowardseachotherwiththesameforcewithwhichtheyhadpreviouslyflownapart;

andthisforcedisappears，butonlytoreappearasheat，andaspreciselythesamequantityofheatashadpreviouslybeentiedup。Thisexplanationisofcourseahypothesis，asisthewholemechanicaltheoryofheat，inasmuchasnoonehasuptonoweverseenamolecule，nottomentiononeinvibration。

Justforthisreasonitiscertaintobefullofdefectsasthisstillveryyoungtheoryisasawhole，butitcanatleastexplainwhathappenswithoutinanywaycomingintoconflictwiththeindestructibilityanduncreatabilityofmotion，anditisevenabletoaccountforthewhereaboutsofheatduringitstransformations。Latent，ortied-up，heatisthereforeinnowayastumbling-blockforthemechanicaltheoryofheat。Onthecontrary，thistheoryprovidesthefirstrationalexplanationofwhattakesplace，anditinvolvesnostumbling-blockexceptinsofarasphysicistscontinuetodescribeheatwhichhasbeentransformedintoanotherformofmolecularenergybymeansoftheterm“tied-up“，whichhasbecomeobsoleteandunsuitable。

Theself-equalstatesandconditionsofrestinthesolid，intheliquidandinthegaseousstateofaggregationthereforerepresent，tobesure，mechanicalwork，insofarasmechanicalworkisthemeasureofheat。Boththesolidcrustoftheearthandthewateroftheocean，intheirpresentaggregatestates，representadefinitequantityofheatsetfree，towhichofcoursecorrespondsanequallydefinitequantityofmechanicalforce。Inthetransitionofthegaseousball，fromwhichtheearthhasdeveloped，intotheliquidandsubsequentlyintothelargelysolidaggregatestate，adefinitequantityofmolecularenergywasradiatedasheatintospace。ThedifficultyaboutwhichHerrDühringmumblesinhismysteriousmannerthereforedoesnotexist，andthougheveninapplyingthetheorycosmicallywemaycomeupagainstdefectsandgaps——whichmustbeattributedtoourimperfectmeansofknowledge——wenowherecomeupagainsttheoreticallyinsuperableobstacles。Thebridgefromthestatictothedynamicishere，too，theexternalimpulse——thecoolingorheatingbroughtaboutbyotherbodiesactingonanobjectwhichisinastateofequilibrium。ThefurtherweexplorethisnaturalphilosophyofDühring’s，themoreimpossibleappearallattemptstoexplainmotionoutofimmobilityortofindthebridgeoverwhichthepurelystatic，theresting，canbyitselfpasstothedynamic，tomotion。

Withthiswehavefortunatelyridourselvesforatimeoftheself-equalprimordialstate。HerrDühringpassesontochemistry，andtakestheopportunitytorevealtousthreelawsofnature’sinertnesswhichhavesofarbeendiscoveredbyhisphilosophyofreality，viz。:

(1)thequantityofallmatteringeneral，(2)thatofthesimple(chemical)

elements，and(3)thatofmechanicalforceareconstant{D。Ph。97}

Hence:theuncreatabilityandindestructibilityofmatter，andalsoofitssimplecomponentparts，insofarasitismadeupofsuch，aswellastheuncreatabilityandindestructibilityofmotion——theseoldfactsknowntheworldoverandexpressedmostinadequately——istheonlypositivethingwhichHerrDühringcanprovideuswithasaresultofhisnaturalphilosophyoftheinorganicworld。Weknewallthislongago。Butwhatwedidnotknowwasthattheywere“lawsofinertness“andassuch“schematicpropertiesofthesystemofthings“。WearewitnessingarepetitionofwhathappenedabovetoKant:HerrDühringpicksupsomeoldfamiliarquip，sticksaDühringlabelonit，andcallstheresult:

“fromthegrounduporiginalconclusionsandviews……system-creatingideas{525}deep-rootedscience“{200，219;D。C。555-56}。

Buttheneednotbyanymeansdespaironthisaccount。Whateverdefectseventhemostdeep-rootedscienceandthebest-orderedsocietymayhave，HerrDühringcanatanyrateassertonethingwithconfidence:

“Theamountofgoldexistingintheuniversemustatalltimeshavebeenthesame，anditcanhaveincreasedordiminishedjustaslittleascanmatteringeneral“{D。Ph。96}。

UnfortunatelyHerrDühringdoesnottelluswhatwecanbuywiththis“existinggold“。

VII。

PHILOSOPHYOFNATURE。

THEORGANICWORLD“Asingleanduniformladderofintermediatestepsleadsfromthemechanicsofpressureandimpacttothelinkingtogetherofsensationsandideas“{D。Ph。104}。

WiththisassuranceHerrDühringsaveshimselfthetroubleofsayinganythingfurtherabouttheoriginoflife，althoughitmightreasonablyhavebeenexpectedthatathinkerwhohadtracedtheevolutionoftheworldbacktoitsself-equalstate，andissomuchathomeonothercelestialbodies，wouldhaveknownexactlywhat’swhatalsoonthispoint。Fortherest，however，theassurancehegivesusisonlyhalfrightunlessitiscompletedbytheHegeliannodallineofmeasurerelationswhichhasalreadybeenmentioned。Inspiteofallgradualness，thetransitionfromoneformofmotiontoanotheralwaysremainsaleap，adecisivechange。Thisistrueofthetransitionfromthemechanicsofcelestialbodiestothatofsmallermassesonaparticularcelestialbody;itisequallytrueofthetransitionfromthemechanicsofmassestothemechanicsofmolecules——

includingtheformsofmotioninvestigatedinphysicsproper:heat，light，electricity，magnetism。Inthesameway，thetransitionfromthephysicsofmoleculestothephysicsofatoms——chemistry——inturninvolvesadecidedleap;andthisisevenmoreclearlythecaseinthetransitionfromordinarychemicalactiontothechemismofalbumenwhichwecalllife。[39]Thenwithinthesphereoflifetheleapsbecomeevermoreinfrequentandimperceptible——Onceagain，therefore，itisHegelwhohastocorrectHerrDühring。

TheconceptofpurposeprovidesHerrDühringwithaconceptualtransitiontotheorganicworld。Onceagain，thisisborrowedfromHegel，whoinhisLogic——theDoctrineoftheNotion——makesthetransitionfromchemismtolifebymeansofteleology，orthescienceofpurpose。

WhereverwelookinHerrDühringwerunintoaHegelian“crudity“，whichhequiteunblushinglydishesouttousashisowndeep-rootedscience。

Itwouldtakeustoofarafieldtoinvestigateheretheextenttowhichitislegitimateandappropriatetoapplytheideasofmeansandendtotheorganicworld。Inanycase，eventheapplicationoftheHegelian“innerpurpose“——i。e。，apurposewhichisnotimportedintonaturebysomethirdpartyactingpurposively，suchasthewisdomofprovidence，butliesinthenecessityofthethingitself——constantlyleadspeoplewhoarenotwellversedinphilosophytothoughtlesslyascribingtonatureconsciousandpurposiveactivity。ThatsameHerrDühringwhoisfilledwithboundlessmoralindignationattheslightest“spiritistic“tendencyinotherpeopleassuresus“withcertaintythattheinstinctivesensationswereprimarilycreatedforthesakeofthesatisfactioninvolvedintheiractivity“{D。Ph。158}。

Hetellsusthatpoornature“isobligedincessantlytomaintainorderintheworldofobjects“

{159}andindoingsoshehastosettlemorethanonebusiness“whichrequiresmoresubtletyonthepartofnaturethanisusuallycreditedtoher“{165}。

Butnaturenotonlyknowswhyshedoesonethingoranother;shehasnotonlytoperformthedutiesofahousemaid，shenotonlypossessessubtlety，initselfaprettygoodaccomplishmentinsubjectiveconsciousthought;shehasalsoawill。Forwhattheinstinctsdoinaddition，incidentallyfulfillingrealnaturalfunctionssuchasnutritionpropagation，etc。，“weshouldnotregardasdirectlybutonlyindirectlywilled{169}。

Sowehavearrivedataconsciouslythinkingandactingnature，andarethusalreadystandingonthe“bridge“——notindeedfromthestatictothedynamic，butfrompantheismtodeism。OrisHerrDühringperhapsjustforonceindulgingalittlein“natural-philosophicalsemi-poetry“？

Impossible！Allthatourphilosopherofrealitycantellusoforganicnatureisrestrictedtothefightagainstthisnatural-philosophicalsemi-poetry，against“charlatanismwithitsfrivoloussuperficialitiesandpseudo-scientificmystifications“，againstthe“poetisingfeatures“

{109}ofDarwinism。

ThemainreproachlevelledagainstDarwinisthathetransferredtheMalthusianpopulationtheoryfrompoliticaleconomytonaturalscience，thathewasheldcaptivebytheideasofananimalbreeder，thatinhistheoryofthestruggleforexistencehepursuedunscientificsemi-poetry，andthatthewholeofDarwinism，afterdeductingwhathadbeenborrowedfromLamarck，isapieceofbrutalitydirectedagainsthumanity。

Darwinbroughtbackfromhisscientifictravelstheviewthatplantandanimalspeciesarenotconstantbutsubjecttovariation。Inordertofollowupthisideaafterhisreturnhometherewasnobetterfieldavailablethanthatofthebreedingofanimalsandplants。ItispreciselyinthisfieldthatEnglandistheclassicalcountry;theachievementsofothercountries，forexampleGermany，fallfarshortofwhatEnglandhasachievedinthisconnection。Moreover，mostofthesesuccesseshavebeenwonduringthelasthundredyears，sothatthereisverylittledifficultyinestablishingthefacts。Darwinfoundthatthisbreedingproducedartificially，amonganimalsandplantsofthesamespecies，differencesgreaterthanthosefoundinwhataregenerallyrecognisedasdifferentspecies。Thuswasestablishedontheonehandthevariabilityofspeciesuptoacertainpoint，andontheotherthepossibilityofacommonancestryfororganismswithdifferentspecificcharacteristics。Darwintheninvestigatedwhethertherewerenotpossiblycausesinnaturewhich——withouttheconsciousintentionofthebreeder——wouldneverthelessinthelongrunproduceinlivingorganismschangessimilartothoseproducedbyartificialselection。

Hediscoveredthesecausesinthedisproportionbetweentheimmensenumberofgermscreatedbynatureandtheinsignificantnumberoforganismswhichactuallyattainmaturity。Butaseachgermstrivestodevelop，therenecessarilyarisesastruggleforexistencewhichmanifestsitselfnotmerelyasdirectbodilycombatordevouring，butalsoasastruggleforspaceandlight，eveninthecaseofplants。Anditisevidentthatinthisstrugglethoseindividualswhichhavesomeindividualpeculiarity，howeverinsignificant，thatgivesthemanadvantageinthestruggleforexistencewillhavethebestprospectofreachingmaturityandpropagatingthemselves。Theseindividualpeculiaritieshavethusthetendencytodescendbyheredity，andwhentheyoccuramongmanyindividualsofthesamespecies，tobecomemorepronouncedthroughaccumulatedheredityinthedirectiononcetaken;whilethoseindividualswhichdonotpossessthesepeculiaritiessuccumbmoreeasilyinthestruggleforexistenceandgraduallydisappear。Inthiswayaspeciesisalteredthroughnaturalselection，throughthesurvivalofthefittest。

AgainstthisDarwiniantheoryHerrDühringnowsaysthattheoriginoftheideaofthestruggleforexistence，as，heclaims，Darwinhimselfadmitted，hastobesoughtinageneralisationoftheviewsoftheeconomistandtheoreticianofpopulation，Malthus，andthattheideathereforesuffersfromallthedefectsinherentinthepriestlyMalthusianideasofover-population{D。Ph。101}——NowDarwinwouldnotdreamofsayingthattheoriginoftheideaofthestruggleforexistenceistobefoundinMalthus。HeonlysaysthathistheoryofthestruggleforexistenceisthetheoryofMalthusappliedtotheanimalandplantworldasawhole。HowevergreattheblundermadebyDarwininacceptingtheMalthusiantheorysonaivelyanduncritically，neverthelessanyonecanseeatthefirstglancethatnoMalthusianspectaclesarerequiredtoperceivethestruggleforexistenceinnature——thecontradictionbetweenthecountlesshostofgermswhichnaturesolavishlyproducesandthesmallnumberofthosewhicheverreachmaturity，acontradictionwhichinfactforthemostpartfindsitssolutioninastruggleforexistence——oftenofextremecruelty。AndjustasthelawofwageshasmaintaineditsvalidityevenaftertheMalthusianargumentsonwhichRicardobasedithavelongbeenconsignedtooblivion，solikewisethestruggleforexistencecantakeplaceinnature，evenwithoutanyMalthusianinterpretation。Forthatmatter，theorganismsofnaturealsohavetheirlawsofpopulation，whichhavebeenleftpracticallyuninvestigated，althoughtheirestablishmentwouldbeofdecisiveimportanceforthetheoryoftheevolutionofspecies。

Butwhowasitthatlentdecisiveimpetustoworkinthisdirectiontoo？

NootherthanDarwin。

HerrDühringcarefullyavoidsanexaminationofthispositivesideofthequestion。Instead，thestruggleforexistenceisarraignedagainandagain。Itisobvious，accordingtohim，thattherecanbenotalkofastruggleforexistenceamongunconsciousplantsandgood-naturedplant-eaters:

“inthepreciseanddefinitesensethestruggleforexistenceisfoundintherealmofbrutalitytotheextentthatanimalsliveonpreyanditsdevourment“{118}。

Andafterhehasreducedtheideaofthestruggleforexistencetothesenarrowlimitshecangivefullventtohisindignationatthebrutalityofthisidea，whichhehimselfhasrestrictedtobrutality。ButthismoralindignationonlyreboundsuponHerrDühringhimself，whoisindeedtheonlyauthorofthestruggleforexistenceinthislimitedconceptionandisthereforesolelyresponsibleforit。ItisconsequentlynotDarwinwho“soughtthelawsandunderstandingofallnature’sactionsinthekingdomofthebrutes“{117}，——Darwinhadinfactexpresslyincludedthewholeoforganicnatureinthestruggle——butanimaginarybugbeardressedupbyHerrDühringhimself。

Thename:thestruggleforexistence，canforthatmatterbewillinglysacrificedtoHerrDühring’shighlymoralindignation。Thatthefactexistsalsoamongplantscanbedemonstratedtohimbyeverymeadow，everycornfield，everywood;andthequestionatissueisnotwhatitistobecalled，whether“struggleforexistence“or“lackofconditionsoflifeandmechanicaleffects“{118}，buthowthisfactinfluencesthepreservationorvariationofspecies。OnthispointHerrDühringmaintainsanobstinateandself-equalsilence。Thereforeforthetimebeingeverythingmayremainasitwasinnaturalselection。

ButDarwinism“producesitstransformationsanddifferencesoutofnothing“{114}。

ItistruethatDarwin，whenconsideringnaturalselection，leavesoutofaccountthecauseswhichhaveproducedthealterationsinseparateindividuals，anddealsinthefirstplacewiththewayinwhichsuchindividualdeviationsgraduallybecomethecharacteristicsofarace，varietyorspecies。

ToDarwinitwasoflessimmediateimportancetodiscoverthesecauses——whichuptothepresentareinpartabsolutelyunknown，andinpartcanonlybestatedinquitegeneralterms——thantofindarationalforminwhichtheireffectsbecomefixed，acquirepermanentsignificance。ItistruethatindoingthisDarwinattributedtohisdiscoverytoowideafieldofaction，madeitthesoleagentinthealterationofspeciesandneglectedthecausesoftherepeatedindividualvariations，concentratingratherontheforminwhichthesevariationsbecomegeneral;butthisisamistakewhichheshareswithmostotherpeoplewhomakeanyrealadvance。

Moreover，ifDarwinproduceshisindividualtransformationsoutofnothing，andinsodoingappliesexclusively“thewisdomofthebreeder“{125}，thebreeder，too，mustproduceoutofnothinghistransformationsinanimalandplantformswhicharenotmerelyimaginarybutreal。Butonceagain，themanwhogavetheimpetustoinvestigatehowexactlythesetransformationsanddifferencesariseisnootherthanDarwin。

Inrecenttimestheideaofnaturalselectionwasextended，particularlybyHaeckel，andthevariationofspeciesconceivedasaresultofthemutualinteractionofadaptationandheredity，inwhichprocessadaptationistakenasthefactorwhichproducesvariations，andheredityasthepreservingfactor。ThisisalsonotregardedassatisfactorybyHerrDühring。

“Realadaptationtoconditionsoflifewhichareofferedorwithheldbynaturepresupposesimpulsesandactionsdeterminedbyideas。Otherwisetheadaptationisonlyapparent，andthecausalityoperativethereupondoesnotriseabovethelowgradesofthephysical，chemicalandplant-physiological“

{D。Ph。115}。

OnceagainitisthenamewhichmakesHerrDühringangry。Butwhatevernamehemaygivetotheprocess，thequestionhereiswhethervariationsinthespeciesoforganismsareproducedthroughsuchprocessesornot。

AndagainHerrDühringgivesnoanswer。

“If，ingrowing，aplanttakesthepathalongwhichitwillreceivemostlight，thiseffectofthestimulusisnothingbutacombinationofphysicalforcesandchemicalagents，andanyattempttodescribeitasadaptation——notmetaphorically，butinthestrictsenseoftheword——

mustintroduceaspiritisticconfusionintotheconcepts“{115}。

Suchistheseveritymetedouttoothersbytheverymanwhoknowsexactlybywhosewillnaturedoesonethingoranother，whospeaksofnature’ssubtletyandevenofherwill！Spiritisticconfusion，yes——butwhere，inHaeckelorinHerrDühring？

Andnotonlyspiritistic，butalsologicalconfusion。WesawthatHerrDühringinsistswithmightandmainonestablishingthevalidityinnatureoftheconceptofpurpose:

“Therelationbetweenmeansandenddoesnotintheleastpresupposeaconsciousintention“{102}。

What，then，isadaptationwithoutconsciousintention，withoutthemediationofideas，whichhesozealouslyopposes，ifnotsuchunconsciouspurposiveactivity？

Ifthereforetree-frogsandleaf-eatinginsectsaregreen，desertanimalssandy-yellow，andanimalsofthepolarregionsmainlysnow-whiteincolour，theyhavecertainlynotadoptedthesecoloursonpurposeorinconformitywithanyideas;onthecontrary，thecolourscanonlybeexplainedonthebasisofphysicalforcesandchemicalagents。Andyetitcannotbedeniedthattheseanimals，becauseofthosecolours，arepurposivelyadaptedtotheenvironmentinwhichtheylive，inthattheyhavebecomefarlessvisibletotheirenemies。Injustthesamewaytheorganswithwhichcertainplantsseizeanddevourinsectsalightingonthemareadaptedtothisaction，andevenpurposivelyadapted。Consequently，ifHerrDühringinsiststhatthisadaptationmustbeeffectedthroughideas，heasmuchassays，onlyinotherwords，thatpurposiveactivitymustalsobebroughtaboutthroughideas，mustbeconsciousandintentional。

Andthisbringsus，asisusuallythecaseinhisphilosophyofreality，toapurposivecreator，toGod。

“Anexplanationofthiskindusedtobecalleddeism，andwasnotthoughtmuchof“——HerrDühringtellsus——“butonthismatter，too，viewsnowseemtohavebeenreversed“{111}。

Fromadaptationwenowpassontoheredity。Herelikewise，accordingtoHerrDühring，Darwinismiscompletelyonthewrongtrack。Thewholeorganicworld，Darwinissaidtohaveasserted，descendedfromoneprimordialbeing，issotospeaktheprogenyofonesinglebeing。Dühringstatesthat，inDarwin’sview，thereisnosuchthingastheindependentparallellinesofhomogeneousproductsofnatureunlessmediatedbycommondescent;

andthatthereforeDarwinandhisretrospectivelydirectedviewshadperforcetocometoanendatthepointwherethethreadofbegetting，orotherformofpropagation，breaksoff{111}。

TheassertionthatDarwintracedallexistingorganismsbacktooneprimordialbeingis，toputitpolitely，aproductofHerrDühring’s“ownfreecreationandimagination“{43}。DarwinexpresslysaysonthelastpagebutoneofhisOriginofspecies，sixthedition，thatheregards“allbeingsnotasspecialcreations，butasthelinealdescendantsofsomefewbeings“。

AndHaeckelevengoesconsiderablyfurther，assuming“aquiteindependentstockforthevegetablekingdom，andasecondfortheanimalkingdom“，andbetweenthetwo“anumberofindependentstocksofProtista，eachofwhich，quiteindependentlyoftheformer，hasdevelopedoutofonespecialarchegoneofthemonerontype“[40](Schöpfungsgeschichte，p。397)

ThisprimordialbeingwasonlyinventedbyDühringinordertobringitintoasgreatdisreputeaspossiblebydrawingaparallelwiththeprimordialJew{D。Ph。110}Adam，andinthishe——thatistosay，HerrDühring——suffersthemisfortuneofnothavingthefaintestideathatthisprimordialJewhadbeenshownbySmith’sAssyriandiscoveries[41]tohavebeenaprimordialSemite，andthatthewholebiblicalhistoryofcreationandthefloodturnsouttobeapartoftheoldheathenreligiousmythswhichtheJewhaveincommonwiththeBabylonians，ChaldeansandAssyrians。

ItiscertainlyabitterreproachagainstDarwin，andoneforwhichhehasnodefence，thathecomestoanendatonceatthepointwherethethreadofdescentbreaksoff。Unfortunatelyitisareproachwhichhasbeenearnedbythewholeofournaturalscience。Wherethethreadofdescentbreaksoffforit，it“ends“。Ithasnotyetsucceededinproducingorganicbeingswithoutdescentfromothers;indeed，ithasnotyetsucceededeveninproducingsimpleprotoplasmorotheralbuminousbodiesoutofchemicalelements。Withregardtotheoriginoflife，therefore，uptothepresent，naturalscienceisonlyabletosaywithcertaintythatitmusthavebeentheresultofchemicalaction。However，perhapsthephilosophyofrealityisinapositiontogivesomehelponthispointasithasatitsdisposalindependentparallellinesofproductsofnaturenotmediatedbycommondescent。Howcanthesehavecomeintoexistence？Byspontaneousgeneration？

Butuptonoweventhemostaudaciousadvocatesofspontaneousgenerationhavenotclaimedthatthisproducedanythingbutbacteria，embryonicfungiandotherveryprimitiveorganisms——noinsects，fishes，birdsormammals。

Butifthesehomogeneousproductsofnature——organic，ofcourse，ashereweareonlydealingwiththese——arenotconnectedbydescent，theyoreachoftheirancestorsmust，atthepoint“wherethethreadofdescentbreaksoff“，havebeenputintotheworldbyaseparateactofcreation。

Sowearriveonceagainatacreatorandatwhatiscalleddeism。

HerrDühringfurtherdeclaresthatitwasverysuperficialonDarwin’spart“tomakethemereactofthesexualcompositionofpropertiesthefundamentalprincipleoftheoriginoftheseproperties“{116}。

Thisisanotherfreecreationandimaginationofourdeep-rootedphilosopher。

Darwindefinitelystatestheopposite:theexpressionnaturalselectiononlyimpliesthepreservationofvariations，nottheirorigin(p。

63)。ThisnewimputationtoDarwinofthingsheneversaidneverthelesshelpsustograspthefollowingdepthofDühringianmentality:

“Ifsomeprincipleofindependentvariationhadbeenfoundintheinnerschematismofgeneration，thisideawouldhavebeenquiterational;foritisanaturalideatocombinetheprincipleofuniversalgenesiswiththatofsexualpropagationintoaunity，andtoregardso-calledspontaneousgeneration，fromahigherstandpoint，notastheabsoluteantithesisofreproductionbutjustasaproduction“{116}。

AndthemanwhocanwritesuchrubbishisnotashamedtoreproachHegelforhis“jargon“{D。K。G。491}！

Butenoughofthepeevish，contradictorygrumblingandnaggingthroughwhichHerrDühringgivesventtohisangeratthecolossalimpetuswhichnaturalscienceowestothedrivingforceoftheDarwiniantheory。NeitherDarwinnorhisfollowersamongnaturalistseverthinkofbelittlinginanywaythegreatservicesrenderedbyLamarck;infact，theyaretheverypeoplewhofirstputhimupagainonhispedestal。ButwemustnotoverlookthefactthatinLamarck’stimesciencewasasyetfarfrombeinginpossessionofsufficientmaterialtohaveenabledittoanswerthequestionoftheoriginofspeciesexceptinananticipatoryway，prophetically，asitwere。Inadditiontotheenormousmassofmaterial，bothofdescriptiveandanatomicalbotanyandzoology，whichhasaccumulatedintheinterveningperiod，twocompletelynewscienceshavearisensinceLamarck’stime，andtheseareofdecisiveimportanceonthisquestion:

researchintothedevelopmentofplantandanimalgerms(embryology)andresearchintotheorganicremainspreservedinthevariousstrataoftheearth’ssurface(palaeontology)。Thereisinfactapeculiarcorrespondencebetweenthegradualdevelopmentoforganicgermsintomatureorganismsandthesuccessionofplantsandanimalsfollowingeachotherinthehistoryoftheearth。Anditispreciselythiscorrespondencewhichhasgiventhetheoryofevolutionitsmostsecurebasis。Thetheoryofevolutionitselfishoweverstillinaveryearlystage，anditthereforecannotbedoubtedthatfurtherresearchwillgreatlymodifyourpresentconceptions，includingstrictlyDarwinianones，oftheprocessoftheevolutionofspecies。

What，ofapositivecharacter，hasthephilosophyofrealitytotellusconcerningtheevolutionoforganiclife？

“The……variabilityofspeciesisapresuppositionwhichcanbeaccepted“

{D。Ph。115}。Butalongsideitthereholdalso“theindependentparallellinesofhomogeneousproductsofnature，notmediatedbycommondescent“

{111}。

Fromthisweareapparentlytoinferthattheheterogeneousproductsofnature，i。e。，thespecieswhichshowvariations，descend。fromeachotherbutnotsothehomogeneousproducts。Butthisisnotaltogethercorrecteither;forevenwithspecieswhichshowvariations，“mediationbycommondescentisonthecontraryquiteasecondaryactofnature“{114}。

Sowegetcommondescentafterall，butonly“secondclass“。WemustrejoicethatafterHerrDühringhasattributedsomuchtoitthatisevilandobscure，weneverthelessfinditintheendreadmittedbythebackdoor。

Itisthesamewithnaturalselection，forafterallhismoralindignationoverthestruggleforexistencethroughwhichnaturalselectionoperateswesuddenlyread:

“Thedeeperbasisoftheconstitutionoforganismsisthustobesoughtintheconditionsoflifeandcosmicrelations，whilethenaturalselectionemphasisedbyDarwincanonlycomeinasasecondaryfactor“{115}。

Sowegetnaturalselectionafterall，thoughonlysecondclass;andalongwithnaturalselectionalsothestruggleforexistence，andwiththatalsothepriestlyMalthusianoverpopulation！Thatisall，andfortherestHerrDühringrefersustoLamarck。

Inconclusionhewarnsusagainstthemisuseoftheterms:metamorphosisanddevelopment。Metamorphosis，hemaintains，is！anunclearconcept{112}，andtheconceptofdevelopmentispermissibleonlyinsofaraslawsofdevelopmentcanbereallyestablished{126}。Inplaceofboththesetermsweshouldusetheterm“composition“{114}，andtheneverythingwouldbeallright。Itisthesameoldstoryoveragain:thingsremainastheywere，andHerrDühringisquitesatisfiedassoonaswejustalterthenames。

Whenwespeakofthedevelopmentofthechickenintheeggwearecreatingconfusion，forweareabletoprovethelawsof;developmentonlyinanincompleteway。Butifwespeakofits’“composition“everythingbecomesclear。Weshallthereforenolongersay:Thischildisdevelopingfinelybut:Itiscomposing)itselfmagnificently。WecancongratulateHerrDühringonbeingaworthypeeroftheauthoroftheNibelungenringnotonlyinhisnobleself-esteembutalsoinhiscapacityofcomposerofthefuture。[42]

VIII。

PHILOSOPHYOFNATURE。

THEORGANICWORLD

(Conclusion)“Ponder……whatpositiveknowledgeisrequiredtoequipoursectiononnaturalphilosophywithallitsscientificpremises。

Itsbasisisprovidedfirstlybyallthefundamentalachievementsofmathematics，andthentheprincipalpropositionsestablishedbyexactscienceinmechanics，physicsandchemistry，aswellasthegeneralconclusionsofnaturalscienceinphysiology，zoologyandsimilarbranchesofinquiry“{D。Ph。517}。

SuchistheconfidenceandassurancewithwhichHerrDühringspeaksofthemathematicalandnaturalisticeruditionofHerrDühring。Itisimpossibletodetectfromthemeagresectionconcerned，andstilllessfromitsevenmorepaltryconclusions，whatdeep-rootedpositiveknowledgeliesbehindthem。Inanycase，inordertocreatetheDühringoracleonphysicsandchemistry，itisnotnecessarytoknowanymoreofphysicsthantheequationwhichexpressesthemechanicalequivalentofheat，oranymoreofchemistrythanthatallbodiescanbedividedintoelementsandcombinationsofelements。Moreover，apersonwhocantalkof“gravitatingatoms“{81}，asHerrDühringdoes(p。131){D。Ph。}，onlyprovesthatheiscompletely“inthedark“astothedifferencebetweenatomsandmolecules。

Asiswellknown，itisonlychemicalaction，andnotgravitationorothermechanicalorphysicalformsofmotion，thatisexplainedbyatoms。Andifanyoneshouldreadasfarasthechapteronorganicnature，withitsvacuous，self-contradictoryand，atthedecisivepoint，oracularlysenselessmeanderingverbiage，anditsabsolutelyfutilefinalconclusion，hewillnotbeabletoavoidformingtheopinion，fromtheverystart，thatHerrDühringisherespeakingofthingsofwhichheknowsremarkablylittle。

Thisopinionbecomesabsolutecertaintywhenthereaderreacheshissuggestionthatinthescienceoforganicbeings(biology)thetermcompositionshouldbeusedinsteadofdevelopment{114}。Thepersonwhocanputforwardsuchasuggestionshowsthathehasnotthefaintestsuspicionoftheformationoforganicbodies。

Allorganicbodies，excepttheverylowest，consistofcells，smallgranulesofalbumenwhichareonlyvisiblewhenconsiderablymagnified，withanucleusinside。Asarulethecellsalsodevelopanoutermembraneandthecontentsarethenmoreorlessfluid。Thelowestcellularbodiesconsistofasinglecell;theimmensemajorityoforganicbeingsaremulti-cellular，congruouscomplexesofmanycellswhichinlowerorganismsremainofahomogeneoustype，butinhigherorganismsdevelopmoreandmorevariedforms，groupingsandfunctions。Inthehumanbody，forexample，bones，muscles，nerves，tendons，ligaments，cartilages，skin，inaword，alltissuesareeithercomposedofcellsororiginatedfromthem。Butinallorganiccellularstructure，fromtheamoeba，whichisasimpleandmostofthetimeskinlessalbuminousparticlewithanucleusinside，uptoman，andfromthetiniestunicellulardesmidsuptothemosthighlydevelopedplant，themannerinwhichthecellsmultiplyisthesame:byfission。Thecellnucleusfirstbecomesconstrictedinthemiddle，theconstrictionseparatingthetwohalvesofthenucleusgetsmoreandmorepronounced，andatlasttheyseparatefromeachotherandformtwocellnuclei。Thesameprocesstakesplaceinthecellitself;eachofthetwonucleibecomesthecentreofanaccumulationofcellularsubstance，linkedtotheotherbyastripwhichissteadilygrowingnarrower，untilatlastthetwoseparatefromeachotherandcontinuetoexistasindependentcells。Throughsuchrepeatedcellfissionthewholeanimalisgraduallydevelopedinfulloutoftheembryonalvesicleoftheanimalegg，afterithasbeenfertilised，andthereplacementofused-uptissuesiseffectedinthesamewayintheadultanimal。Tocallsuchaprocesscomposition，andtosaythattodescribeitasdevelopmentis“pureimagination“{D。Ph。126}，certainlyindicatesapersonwho——howeverdifficultthismaybetobelieveatthepresentday——knowsabsolutelynothingofthisprocess;hereitispreciselyandexclusivelydevelopmentthatisgoingon，andindeeddevelopmentinthemostliteralsense，andcompositionhasabsolutelynothingtodowithit！

LateronweshallhavesomethingmoretosayaboutwhatHerrDühringunderstandsingeneralbylife。Inparticularhisconceptionoflifeisasfollows:

“Theinorganicworldtooisasystemofself-executingimpulses;butitisonlyatthepointwheretherebeginsrealdifferentiation，withthecirculationofsubstancesthroughspecialchannelsfromoneinternalpointandaccordingtoagerm-schemetransmissibletoasmallerstructure，thatwemayventuretospeakofreallifeinthenarrowerandstrictersense“

{141}。

Thissentenceis，inthenarrowerandstrictersense，asystemofself-executingimpulses(whatevertheymaybe)ofnonsense，evenapartfromitshopelesslyconfusedgrammar。Iflifefirstbeginswhererealdifferentiationcommences，wemustdeclarethatthewholeHaeckeliankingdomofProtistaandperhapsmuchelsearedead，dependingonthemeaningweattachtotheideaofdifferentiation。

Iflifefirstbeginswhenthisdifferentiationcanbetransmittedthroughasmallergerm-scheme，thenatleastallorganismsuptoandincludingunicellularonescannotberegardedasliving。Ifthecirculationofsubstancesthroughspecialchannelsisthehallmarkoflife，then，inadditiontotheforegoing，wemustalsostrikefromtheranksofthelivingthewholeofthehigherclassoftheCoelenterata(exceptinghowevertheMedusae)，thatis，allpolypsandotherzoophytes。[43]Ifthecirculationofsubstancesthroughspecialchannelsfromoneinternalpointistheessentialhallmarkoflife，thenwemustdeclarethatallthoseanimalswhichhavenoheartandthosewhichhavemorethanoneheartaredead。Underthisheadingwouldfall，inadditiontothosealreadyenumerated，allworms，starfishandrotifers(AnnuloidaandAnnulosa，Huxley’sclassification[44])，asectionoftheCrustacea(lobsters)，andfinallyevenavertebrateanimal，thelancelet(theAmphioxus)。Andmoreoverallplants。

Inundertaking，therefore，todefinereallifeinthenarrowerandstrictersense，HerrDühringgivesusfourcharacteristicsoflifewhichtotallycontradictoneanother，oneofwhichcondemnstoeternaldeathnotonlythewholevegetablekingdombutalsoabouthalftheanimalkingdom。Reallynoonecansaythathemisleduswhenhepromisedus“fromthegrounduporiginalconclusionsandviews“{525}！

Anotherpassageruns:

“Innature，too，onesimpletypeisthebasisofallorganisms，fromthelowesttothehighest“，andthistypeis“fullyandcompletelypresentinitsgeneralessenceeveninthemostsubordinateimpulseofthemostundevelopedplant“{305}。

Thisstatementisagain“fullandcomplete“nonsense。Themostsimpletypefoundinthewholeoforganicnatureisthecell，anditcertainlyisthebasisofthehigherorganisms。Ontheotherhand，amongthelowestorganismstherearemanywhicharefarbelowthecell——theprotamoeba，asimplealbuminousparticlewithoutanydifferentiationwhatever，andawholeseriesofothermoneraandallbladderseaweeds(Siphoneae)。Allofthesearelinkedwiththehigherorganismsonlybythefactthattheiressentialcomponentisalbumenandthattheyconsequentlyperformfunctionsofalbumen，i。e。，liveanddie。

HerrDühringfurthertellsus:

“Physiologically，sensationisboundupwiththepresenceofsomekindofnerveapparatus，howeversimple。Itisthereforecharacteristicofallanimalstructuresthattheyarecapableofsensation，i。e。，ofasubjectivelyconsciousawarenessoftheirstates。Thesharpboundarylinebetweenplantandanimalliesatthepointwheretheleaptosensationtakesplace。Farfrombeingobliteratedbytheknowntransitionalstructures，thatlinebecomesalogicalnecessitypreciselythroughtheseexternallyundecidedorundecidableforms“{D。Ph。141-42}。

Andagain:

“Ontheotherhand，plantsarecompletelyandforalltimedevoidoftheslightesttraceofsensation，andevenlackanycapacityforit“{140}。

Inthefirstplace，Hegelsays(Naturphilosophie，§351，Addendum)that“sensationisthedifferentiaspecifica[“specificdifference“]，theabsolutedistinguishingcharacteristicoftheanimal“。

SoonceagainwefindaHegelian“crudity“{D。K。G。235}，whichthroughthesimpleprocessofappropriationbyHerrDühringisraisedtothehonourablepositionofafinalandultimatetruth。

Inthesecondplace，wehearforthefirsttimehereoftransitionalstructures，externallyundecidedorundecidableforms(finegibberish！)

betweenplantandanimal。Thattheseintermediateformsexist;thatthereareorganismsofwhichwecannotsayflatlywhethertheyareplantsoranimals;thatthereforewearewhollyunabletodrawasharpdividinglinebetweenplantandanimal——preciselythisfactmakesitalogicalnecessityforHerrDühringtoestablishacriterionofdifferentiationwhichinthesamebreathheadmitswillnotholdwater！Butwehaveabsolutelynoneedtogobacktothedoubtfulterritorybetweenplantsandanimals;

arethesensitiveplantswhichattheslightesttouchfoldtheirleavesorclosetheirflowers，aretheinsect-eatingplantsdevoidoftheslightesttraceofsensationanddotheyevenlackanycapacityforit？ThiscannotbemaintainedevenbyHerrDühringwithout“unscientificsemi-poetry“

{D。Ph。56，142}。

Inthethirdplace，itisonceagainafreecreationandimaginationonHerrDühring’spartwhenheassertsthatsensationisphysiologicallyboundupwiththepresenceofsomekindofnerveapparatus，howeversimple。

Notonlyallprimitiveanimals，butalsothezoophytes，oratanyratethegreatmajorityofthem，shownotraceofanerveapparatus。Itisonlyfromthewormsonthatsuchanapparatusisregularlyfound，andHerrDühringisthefirstpersontomaketheassertionthatthoseanimalshavenosensationbecausetheyhavenonerves。Sensationisnotnecessarilyassociatedwithnerves，butundoubtedlywithcertainalbuminousbodieswhichuptonowhavenotbeenmorepreciselydetermined。

Atanyrate，HerrDühring’sbiologicalknowledgeissufficientlycharacterisedbythequestionwhichhedoesnothesitatetoputtoDarwin:

“Isittobesupposedthatanimalshavedevelopedoutofplants？”{110}。

Suchaquestioncouldonlybeputbyapersonwhohasnottheslightestknowledgeofeitheranimalsorplants。

OflifeingeneralHerrDühringisonlyabletotellus:

“Themetabolismwhichiscarriedoutthroughaplasticallycreatingschematisation“(whatintheworldcanthatbe？)“remainsalwaysadistinguishingcharacteristicofthereallifeprocess“{141}。

Thatisallwelearnaboutlife，whileinthe“plasticallycreatingschematisation“

weareleftknee-deepinthemeaninglessgibberishofthepurestDühringjargon。Ifthereforewewanttoknowwhatlifeis，weshallevidentlyhavetolookalittlemorecloselyatitourselves。

Thatorganicexchangeofmatteristhemostgeneralandmostcharacteristicphenomenonoflifehasbeensaidtimesoutofnumberduringthelastthirtyyearsbyphysiologicalchemistsandchemicalphysiologists，anditisheremerelytranslatedbyHerrDühringintohisownelegantandclearlanguage。

Buttodefinelifeasorganicmetabolismistodefinelifeas——life;

fororganicexchangeofmatterormetabolismwithplasticallycreatingschematisationisinfactaphrasewhichitselfneedsexplanationthroughlife，explanationthroughthedistinctionbetweentheorganicandtheinorganic，thatis，thatwhichlivesandthatwhichdoesnotlive。Thisexplanationthereforedoesnotgetusanyfurther。

Exchangeofmatterassuchtakesplaceevenwithoutlife。Thereisawholeseriesofprocessesinchemistrywhich，givenanadequatesupplyofrawmaterial，constantlyreproducetheirownconditions，anddosoinsuchawaythatadefinitebodyisthecarrieroftheprocess。Thisisthecaseinthemanufactureofsulphuricacidbytheburningofsulphur。

Inthisprocesssulphurdioxide，SO2，isproduced，andwhensteamandnitricacidareadded，thesulphurdioxideabsorbshydrogenandoxygenandisconvertedintosulphuricacid，H2SO4。Thenitricacidgivesoffoxygenandisreducedtonitricoxide;thisnitricoxideimmediatelyabsorbsnewoxygenfromtheairandistransformedintothehigheroxidesofnitrogen，butonlytotransferthisoxygenimmediatelytosulphurdioxideandtogothroughthesameprocessagain;sothattheoreticallyaninfinitelysmallquantityofnitricacidshouldsufficetochangeanunlimitedquantityofsulphurdioxide，oxygenandwaterintosulphuricacid——Exchangeofmatteralsotakesplaceinthepassageoffluidsthroughdeadorganicandeveninorganicmembranes，asinTraube’sartificialcells。[45]Heretooitisclearthatwecannotgetanyfurtherbymeansofexchangeofmatter;forthepeculiarexchangeofmatterwhichistoexplainlifeneedsitselftobeexplainedthroughlife。Wemustthereforetrysomeotherway。

Lifeisthemodeofexistenceofalbuminousbodies，andthismodeofexistenceessentiallyconsistsintheconstantself-renewalofthechemicalconstituentsofthesebodies。

Thetermalbuminousbodyisusedhereinthesenseinwhichitisemployedinmodernchemistry，whichincludesunderthisnameallbodiesconstitutedsimilarlytoordinarywhiteofegg，otherwisealsoknownasproteinsubstances。Thenameisanunhappyone，becauseordinarywhiteofeggplaysthemostlifelessandpassiveroleofallthesubstancesrelatedtoit，since，togetherwiththeyolk，itismerelyfoodforthedevelopingembryo。Butwhilesolittleisyetknownofthechemicalcompositionofalbuminousbodies，thisnameisbetterthananyotherbecauseitismoregeneral。

Whereverwefindlifewefinditassociatedwithanalbuminousbody，andwhereverwefindanalbuminousbodynotinprocessofdissolution，therealsowithoutexceptionwefindphenomenaoflife。Undoubtedly，thepresenceofotherchemicalcombinationsisalsonecessaryinalivingbodyinordertoinduceparticulardifferentiationsofthesephenomenaoflife;

buttheyarenotrequisitefornakedlife，exceptinsofarastheyenterthebodyasfoodandaretransformedintoalbumen。Thelowestlivingbeingsknowntousareinfactnothingbutsimpleparticlesofalbumen，andtheyalreadyexhibitalltheessentialphenomenaoflife。

Butwhataretheseuniversalphenomenaoflifewhichareequallypresentamongalllivingorganisms？Aboveallthefactthatanalbuminousbodyabsorbsotherappropriatesubstancesfromitsenvironmentandassimilatesthem，whileother，olderpartsofthebodydisintegrateandareexcreted。

Othernon-living，bodiesalsochange，disintegrateorenterintocombinationsinthenaturalcourseofevents;butindoingthistheyceasetobewhattheywere。Aweather-wornrockisnolongerarock，metalwhichoxidisesturnsintorust。Butwhatwithnon-livingbodiesisthecauseofdestruction，withalbumenisthefundamentalconditionofexistence。Fromthemomentwhenthisuninterruptedmetamorphosisofitsconstituents，thisconstantalternationofnutritionandexcretion，nolongertakesplaceinanalbuminousbody，thealbuminousbodyitselfcomestoanend，itdecomposes，thatis，dies。Life，themodeofexistenceofanalbuminousbody，thereforeconsistsprimarilyinthefactthateverymomentitisitselfandatthesametimesomethingelse;andthisdoesnottakeplaceastheresultofaprocesstowhichitissubjectedfromwithout，asisthewayinwhichthiscanoccuralsointhecaseofinanimatebodies。Onthecontrary，life，themetabolismwhichtakesplacethroughnutritionandexcretion，isaself-implementingprocesswhichisinherentin，nativeto，itsbearer，albumen，withoutwhichthelattercannotexist。Andhenceitfollowsthatifchemistryeversucceedsinproducingalbumenartificially，thisalbumenmustshowthephenomenaoflife，howeverweakthesemaybe。Itiscertainlyopentoquestionwhetherchemistrywillatthesametimealsodiscovertherightfoodforthisalbumen。

Fromthemetabolismwhichtakesplacethroughnutritionandexcretion，astheessentialfunctionofalbumen，andfromitspeculiarplasticityproceedalsoalltheothermostsimplefactorsoflife:irritability，whichisalreadyincludedinthemutualinteractionbetweenthealbumenanditsfood;contractibility，whichisshown，evenataverylowstage，intheconsumptionoffood;thepossibilityofgrowth，whichinthelowestformsincludespropagationbyfission;internalmovement，withoutwhichneithertheconsumptionnortheassimilationoffoodispossible。

Ourdefinitionoflifeisnaturallyveryinadequate，inasmuchas，farfromincludingallthephenomenaoflife，ithastobelimitedtothosewhicharethemostcommonandthesimplest。Fromascientificstandpointalldefinitionsareoflittlevalue。Inordertogainanexhaustiveknowledgeofwhatlifeis，weshouldhavetogothroughalltheformsinwhichitappears，fromthelowesttothehighest。Butforordinaryusagesuchdefinitionsareveryconvenientandinplacescannotwellbedispensedwith;moreover，theycandonoharm，providedtheirinevitabledeficienciesarenotforgotten。

ButbacktoHerrDühring。Whenthingsarefaringbadlywithhiminthesphereofearthlybiology，heknowswheretofindconsolation;

hetakesrefugeinhisstarryheaven。

“Itisnotmerelythespecialapparatusofanorganofsensation，butthewholeobjectiveworld，whichisadaptedtotheproductionofpleasureandpain。Forthisreasonwetakeitforgrantedthattheantithesisbetweenpleasureandpain，andmoreoverexactly，intheformwithwhichwearefamiliar，isauniversalantithesis，andmustberepresentedinthevariousworldsoftheuniversebyessentiallyhomogeneousfeelings……

Thisconformity，however，isofnolittlesignificance，foritisthekeytotheuniverseofsensations……Hencethesubjectivecosmicworldistousnotmuchmoreunfamiliarthantheobjective。Theconstitutionofbothspheresmustbeconceivedaccordingtooneconcordanttype，andinthiswehavethebeginningsofascienceofconsciousnesswhoserangeiswiderthanmerelyterrestrial“{D。Ph。139-40}。

Whatdoafewgrossblundersinterrestrialnaturalsciencemattertothemanwhocarriesinhispocketthekeytotheuniverseofsensations？Allonsdonc！[“Well，really！“]

IX。

MORALITYANDLAW。

ETERNALTRUTHSWerefrainfromgivingsamplesofthemish-mashofplatitudesandoracularsayings，inaword，ofthesimplebalderdashwithwhichHerrDühringregaleshisreadersforfiftyfullpagesasthedeep-rootedscienceoftheelementsofconsciousness。Wewillciteonlythis:

“Hewhocanthinkonlybymeansoflanguagehasneveryetlearntwhatismeantbyabstractandpurethought“{D。Ph。189}。

Onthisbasisanimalsarethemostabstractandpurestthinkers，becausetheirthoughtisneverobscuredbytheofficiousintrusionoflanguage。

InanycaseonecanseefromtheDühringianthoughtsandthelanguageinwhichtheyarecouchedhowlittlesuitedthesethoughtsaretoanylanguage，andhowlittlesuitedtheGermanlanguageistothesethoughts。

Atlastthefourthsectionbringsusdeliverance;apartfromtheliquefyingpapofrhetoric，itdoesatleastofferus，hereandthere，somethingtangibleonthesubjectofmoralityandlaw。Rightattheoutset，onthisoccasion，weareinvitedtotakeatriptotheothercelestialbodies:

theelementsofmorals“mustoccurinconcordantfashionamongallextra-humanbeingswhoseactivereasonhastodealwiththeconsciousorderingoflifeimpulsesintheformofinstincts……Andyetourinterestinsuchdeductionswillbesmall……Neverthelessitisanideawhichbeneficentlyextendsourrangeofvision，whenwethinkthatonothercelestialbodiesindividualandcommunallifemustbebasedonaschemewhich……

isunabletoabrogateorescapefromthegeneralfundamentalconstitutionofarationallyactingbeing“{192-93}。

Inthiscase，bywayofexception，thevalidityoftheDühringiantruthsalsoforallotherpossibleworldsisputatthebeginninginsteadoftheendofthechapterconcerned;andforasufficientreason。IfthevalidityoftheDühringianconceptionsofmoralityandjusticeisfirstestablishedforallworlds，itisallthemoreeasybeneficentlytoextendtheirvaliditytoalltimes。Butonceagainwhatisinvolvedisnothinglessthanfinalandultimatetruth{2}。

Theworldofmorals，“justasmuchastheworldofgeneralknowledge“，has“itspermanentprinciplesandsimpleelements“。Themoralprinciplesstand“abovehistoryandalsoabovethepresentdifferencesinnationalcharacteristics……Thespecialtruthsoutofwhich，inthecourseofevolution，amorecompletemoralconsciousnessand，sotospeak，consciencearebuiltup，may，insofarastheirultimatebasisisunderstood，claimavalidityandrangesimilartotheinsightsandapplicationsofmathematics，Genuinetruthsareabsolutelyimmutable……sothatitisaltogetherstupidtothinkthatthecorrectnessofknowledgeissomethingthatcanbeaffectedbytimeandchangesinreality“{196}。Hencethecertitudeofstrictknowledgeandtheadequacyofcommoncognitionleavenoroom，whenweareinpossessionofoursenses，fordoubtingtheabsolutevalidityoftheprinciplesofknowledge。“Evenpersistentdoubtisitselfadiseasedconditionofweaknessandonlytheexpressionofhopelessconfusion，whichsometimesseekstocontrivetheappearanceofsomethingstableinthesystematicconsciousnessofitsnothingness。Inthesphereofethics，thedenialofgeneralprinciplesclutchesatthegeographicalandhistoricalvarietyofcustomsandprinciples，andoncetheinevitablenecessityofmoralwickednessandevilisconceded，itbelievesitselfsomuchthemoretobeabovetherecognitionofthegreatimportanceandactualefficacyofconcordantmoralimpulses。

Thismordantscepticism，whichisnotdirectedagainstparticularfalsedoctrinesbutagainstmankind’sverycapacitytodevelopconsciousmorality，resolvesitselfultimatelyintoarealNothing，infactintosomethingthatisworsethanpurenihilism{194}……Itflattersitselfthatitcaneasilydominatewithinitsutterchaosofdisintegratedethicalideasandopenthegatestounprincipledarbitrariness。Butitisgreatlymistaken:formerereferencetotheinevitablefateofreasoninerrorandtruthsufficestoshowbythisanalogyalonethatnaturalfallibilitydoesnotnecessarilyexcludetheattainmentofaccuracy“{195}。

UptonowwehavecalmlyputupwithallthesepompousphrasesofHerrDühring’saboutfinalandultimatetruths，thesovereigntyofthought，absolutecertaintyofknowledge，andsoforth，becauseitisonlyatthepointwhichwehavenowreachedthatthemattercanbesettled。Uptothispointithasbeenenoughtoenquirehowfartheseparateassertionsofthephilosophyofrealityhad“sovereignvalidity“and“anunconditionalclaimtotruth“{2};nowwecometothequestionwhetherany，andifsowhich，productsofhumanknowledgeevercanhavesovereignvalidityandanunconditionalclaimtotruth。WhenIsay“ofhumanknowledge“

Idonotusethephrasewiththeintentionofinsultingtheinhabitantsofothercelestialbodies，whomIhavenothadthehonourofknowing，butonlyforthereasonthatanimalsalsohaveknowledge，thoughitisinnowaysovereign。AdogacknowledgeshismastertobehisGod，thoughthismastermaybethebiggestscoundrelonearth。

Ishumanthoughtsovereign？Beforewecanansweryesornowemustfirstenquire:whatishumanthought？Isitthethoughtoftheindividualman？No。Butitexistsonlyastheindividualthoughtofmanymilliardsofpast，presentandfuturemen。If，then，Isaythatthetotalthoughtofallthesehumanbeings，includingthefutureones，whichisembracedinmyidea，issovereign，abletoknowtheworldasitexists，ifonlymankindlastslongenoughandinsofarasnolimitsareimposedonitsknowledgebyitsperceptiveorgansortheobjectstobeknown，thenIamsayingsomethingwhichisprettybanaland，inaddition，prettybarren。

Forthemostvaluableresultfromitwouldbethatitshouldmakeusextremelydistrustfulofourpresentknowledge，inasmuchasinallprobabilitywearejustaboutatthebeginningofhumanhistory，andthegenerationswhichwillputusrightarelikelytobefarmorenumerousthanthosewhoseknowledgewe——oftenenoughwithaconsiderabledegreeofcontempt——havetheopportunitytocorrect。

HerrDühringhimselfproclaimsittobeanecessitythatconsciousness，andthereforealsothoughtandknowledge，canbecomemanifestonlyinaseriesofindividualbeings。Wecanonlyascribesovereigntytothethoughtofeachoftheseindividualsinsofaraswearenotawareofanypowerwhichwouldbeabletoimposeanyideaforciblyonhim，whenheisofsoundmindandwideawake。Butasforthesovereignvalidityoftheknowledgeobtainedbyeachindividualthought，weallknowthattherecanbenotalkofsuchathing，andthatallpreviousexperienceshowsthatwithoutexceptionsuchknowledgealwayscontainsmuchmorethatis-capableofbeingimproveduponthanthatwhichcannotbeimprovedupon，oriscorrect。

Inotherwords，thesovereigntyofthoughtisrealisedinaseriesofextremelyunsovereignly-thinkinghumanbeings;theknowledgewhichhasanunconditionalclaimtotruthisrealisedinaseriesofrelativeerrors;

neithertheonenortheothercanbefullyrealisedexceptthroughanunendingdurationofhumanexistence。

Hereonceagainwefindthesamecontradictionaswefoundabove，betweenthecharacterofhumanthought，necessarilyconceivedasabsolute，anditsrealityinindividualhumanbeingsallofwhomthinkonlylimitedly。

Thisisacontradictionwhichcanberesolvedonlyinthecourseofinfiniteprogress，inwhatis——atleastpracticallyforus——anendlesssuccessionofgenerationsofmankind。Inthissensehumanthoughtisjustasmuchsovereignasnotsovereign，anditscapacityforknowledgejustasmuchunlimitedaslimited。Itissovereignandunlimitedinitsdisposition，itsvocation，itspossibilitiesanditshistoricalultimategoal;itisnotsovereignanditislimitedinitsindividualrealisationandinrealityatanyparticularmoment。

Itisjustthesamewitheternaltruths。Ifmankindeverreachedthestageatwhichitshouldworkonlywitheternaltruths，withresultsofthoughtwhichpossesssovereignvalidityandanunconditionalclaimtotruth，itwouldthenhavereachedthepointwheretheinfinityoftheintellectualworldbothinitsactualityandinitspotentialityhadbeenexhausted，andthusthefamousmiracleofthecounteduncountablewouldhavebeenperformed。

Butarethereanytruthswhicharesosecurelybasedthatanydoubtofthemseemstoustobetantamounttoinsanity？Thattwicetwomakesfour，thatthethreeanglesofatriangleareequaltotworightangles，thatParisisinFrance，thatamanwhogetsnofooddiesofhunger，andsoforth？Aretherethenneverthelesseternaltruths，finalandultimatetruths{D。Ph。2}？

Certainlythereare。Wecandividethewholerealmofknowledgeinthetraditionalwayintothreegreatdepartments。Thefirstincludesallsciencesthatdealwithinanimatenatureandaretoagreaterorlesserdegreesusceptibleofmathematicaltreatment:mathematics，astronomy，mechanics，physics，chemistry。Ifitgivesanyoneanypleasuretousemightywordsforverysimplethings，itcanbeassertedthatcertainresultsobtainedbythesesciencesareeternaltruths，finalandultimatetruths;

forwhichreasonthesesciencesareknownastheexactsciences。

Butveryfarfromalltheirresultshavethisvalidity。Withtheintroductionofvariablemagnitudesandtheextensionoftheirvariabilitytotheinfinitelysmallandinfinitelylarge，mathematics，usuallysostrictlyethical，fellfromgrace;itateofthetreeofknowledge，whichopeneduptoitacareerofmostcolossalachievements，butatthesametimeapathoferror。Thevirginstateofabsolutevalidityandirrefutableproofofeverythingmathematicalwasgoneforever;therealmofcontroversywasinaugurated，andwehavereachedthepointwheremostpeopledifferentiateandintegratenotbecausetheyunderstandwhattheyaredoingbutfrompurefaith，becauseuptonowithasalwayscomeoutright。Thingsareevenworsewithastronomyandmechanics，andinphysicsandchemistryweareswampedbyhypothesesasifattackedbyaswarmofbees。Anditmustofnecessitybeso。Inphysicswearedealingwiththemotionofmolecules，inchemistrywiththeformationofmoleculesoutofatoms，andiftheinterferenceoflightwavesisnotamyth，wehaveabsolutelynoprospectofeverseeingtheseinterestingobjectswithourowneyes。Astimegoeson，finalandultimatetruthsbecomeremarkablyrareinthisfield。

Weareevenworseoffingeologywhich，byitsnature，hastodealchieflywithprocesseswhichtookplacenotonlyinourabsencebutintheabsenceofanyhumanbeingwhatever。Thegleaninghereoffinalandultimatetruthsisthereforeaverytroublesomebusiness，andthecropisextremelyscanty。

Theseconddepartmentofscienceistheonewhichcoverstheinvestigationoflivingorganisms。Inthisfieldthereissuchamultiplicityofinterrelationshipsandcausalitiesthatnotonlydoesthesolutionofeachquestiongiverisetoahostofotherquestions，buteachseparateproblemcaninmostcasesonlybesolvedpiecemeal，throughaseriesofinvestigationswhichoftenrequirecenturies;andbesides，theneedforasystematicpresentationofinterconnectionsmakesitnecessaryagainandagaintosurroundthefinalandultimatetruthswithaluxuriantgrowthofhypotheses。WhatalongseriesofintermediariesfromGalentoMalpighiwasnecessaryforcorrectlyestablishingsuchasimplematterasthecirculationofthebloodinmammals，howslightisourknowledgeoftheoriginofbloodcorpuscles，andhownumerousarethemissinglinkseventoday，forexample，tobeabletobringthesymptomsofadiseaseintosomerationalrelationshipwithitscause！Andoftenenoughdiscoveries，suchasthatofthecell，aremadewhichcompelustorevisecompletelyallformerlyestablishedfinalandultimatetruthsintherealmofbiology，andtoputwholepilesofthemonthescrap-heaponceandforall。Anyonewhowantstoestablishreallygenuineandimmutabletruthsherewillthereforehavetobecontentwithsuchplatitudesas:allmenaremortal，allfemalemammalshavelactealglands，andthelike;hewillnotevenbeabletoassertthatthehigheranimalsdigestwiththeirstomachsandintestinesandnotwiththeirheads，forthenervousactivity，whichiscentralisedinthehead，isindispensabletodigestion。

Buteternaltruthsareinanevenworseplightinthethird，thehistorical，groupofsciences，whichstudyintheirhistoricalsequenceandintheirpresentresultantstatetheconditionsofhumanlife，socialrelationships，formsoflawandgovernment，withtheiridealsuperstructureintheshapeofphilosophy，religion，art，etc。Inorganicnatureweareatleastdealingwithasuccessionofprocesseswhich，sofarasourimmediateobservationisconcerned，recurwithfairregularitywithinverywidelimits。

OrganicspecieshaveonthewholeremainedunchangedsincethetimeofAristotle。Insocialhistory，however，therepetitionofconditionsistheexceptionandnottherule，oncewepassbeyondtheprimitivestateofman，theso-calledStoneAge;andwhensuchrepetitionsoccur，theyneverariseunderexactlysimilarcircumstances。Such，forexample，istheexistenceofanoriginalcommonownershipofthelandamongallcivilisedpeoples，orthewayitwasdissolved。Inthesphereofhumanhistoryourknowledgeisthereforeevenmorebackwardthanintherealmofbiology。

Furthermore，whenbywayofexceptiontheinnerconnectionbetweenthesocialandpoliticalformsofexistenceinanyepochcomestobeknown，thisasaruleoccursonlywhentheseformshavealreadybyhalfoutlivedthemselvesandarenearingextinction。Therefore，knowledgeishereessentiallyrelative，inasmuchasitislimitedtotheinvestigationofinterconnectionsandconsequencesofcertainsocialandstateformswhichexistonlyinaparticularepochandamongparticularpeoplesandarebytheirverynaturetransitory。Anyonethereforewhoheresetsouttohuntdownfinalandultimatetruths，genuine，absolutelyimmutabletruths，willbringhomebutlittle，apartfromplatitudesandcommonplacesofthesorriestkind——forexample，that，generallyspeaking，mencannotliveexceptbylabour;thatuptothepresenttheyforthemostparthavebeendividedintorulersandruled;

thatNapoleondiedonMay5，1821，andsoon。

Nowitisaremarkablethingthatitispreciselyinthisspherethatwemostfrequentlyencountertruthswhichclaimtobeeternal，finalandultimateandalltherestofit。Thattwicetwomakesfour，thatbirdshavebeaks，andsimilarstatements，areproclaimedaseternaltruthsonlybythosewhoaimatdeducing，fromtheexistenceofeternaltruthsingeneral，theconclusionthattherearealsoeternaltruthsinthesphereofhumanhistory——eternalmorality，eternaljustice，andsoon——whichclaimavalidityandscopesimilartothoseoftheinsightsandapplicationsofmathematics。Andthenwecanconfidentlyrelyonthissamefriendofhumanitytakingthefirstopportunitytoassureusthatallpreviousfabricatorsofeternaltruthshavebeentoagreaterorlesserextentassesandcharlatans，thattheyallfellintoerrorandmademistakes;butthattheirerrorandtheirfallibilityareinaccordancewithnature’slaws，andprovetheexistenceoftruthandaccuracypreciselyinhiscase;

andthathe，theprophetwhohasnowarisen，hasinhisbag，allready-made，finalandultimatetruth，eternalmoralityandeternaljustice。Thishasallhappenedsomanyhundredsandthousandsoftimesthatwecanonlyfeelastonishedthatthereshouldstillbepeoplecredulousenoughtobelievethis，notofothers，ohno！butofthemselves。Neverthelesswehaveherebeforeusatleastonemoresuchprophet，whoalso，quiteintheaccustomedway，fliesintohighlymoralindignationwhenotherpeopledenythatanyindividualwhatsoeverisinapositiontodeliverthefinalandultimatetruth。Suchadenial，orindeedmeredoubtofit，isweakness，hopelessconfusion，nothingness，mordantscepticism，worsethanpurenihilism，utterchaosandothersuchpleasantries。Aswithallprophets，insteadofcriticalandscientificexaminationandjudgmentoneencountersmoralcondemnationoutofhand。

Wemighthavemadementionabovealsoofthescienceswhichinvestigatethelawsofhumanthought，i。e。，logicanddialectics。Inthese，however，eternaltruthsdonotfareanybetter。HerrDühringdeclaresthatdialecticsproperispurenonsense;andthemanybookswhichhavebeenandarestillbeingwrittenonlogicprovideabundantproofthathere，too，finalandultimatetruthsaremuchmoresparselysownthansomepeoplebelieve。