“Natural Selection never explains at all the specifications of the animal and vegetable forms that are actually found....”
And who is the unknown fellow I have got hold of here? Driesch: and his conclusion is much older than that which we have from Professor Bateson. Here, again, from the same insignificant little fellow, we have this—thirty whole years ago:—
“For men of clear intellect Darwinism has long been dead....”
“Oh!” I can hear Mr. Wells saying, “but who is this Driesch?” Well, he stands among the greatest of the German biologists to all educated men. But Mr. Wells has never heard of him.
There is yet another German who put it more strongly still, for he actually gave a title to his book which is, being interpreted, The Death-bed of Darwinism. And who was he? He was only a person called Dennert.
Here Mr. Wells will, I am sure, protest and say, “Oh, this Dennert you tell me about is surely extreme.” I am rather inclined to agree. But that is not the point. He wanted modern authorities, and I am giving him a few. Mr. Wells had never heard of Dennert.
Let us turn to Dwight:—
“We have now the remarkable spectacle that just when many scientific men are all agreed that there is no part (my italics) of the Darwinian system that is of any great influence, and that as a whole the theory is not only unproved, but impossible, the ignorant, half-educated masses have acquired the idea that it is to be accepted as a fundamental fact....”
Who is this fellow Dwight? cries Mr. Wells. Whoever heard of him? I do not know whether Mr. Wells has ever heard of him, but he wrote in the year 1918. And he happened to hold the position of Professor of Anatomy at Harvard University.
At it again! In the year 1919 there was published by a certain Professor Morgan (who, very rightly, is a great admirer of Darwin as the founder of popular modern interest in evolution):—