Parallel Paths: A Study in Biology, Ethics, and Art - T. W. Rolleston

I have to thank The Macmillan Co. for permission to reproduce two illustrations (Figs. 1 and 2) from Wilson’s The Cell in Development and Inheritance, and Mr. Edward Arnold for a similar favour in regard to Fig. 3 from Weismann’s The Evolution Theory.

PART I. BIOLOGY
CHAPTER I
The Argument from Design
PAGE
Paley and the Watch	[1]
The Analogy Inapplicable	[4]
Paley’s Conception of Design	[8]
The Evolutionary Conception	[11]
Conquest of Nature by the Evolution Theory	[16]
The Philosophic Basis of Nature-study	[17]
CHAPTER II
The Wheel of Life
Continuity of Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral Life	[21]
Characters of Organic Life	[23]
Living Matter: Its Functions	[24]
Its Substance	[27]
Its Structure	[28]
CHAPTER III
De Minimis
Growth and Development	[32]
Development a Cell-problem	[33]
The Mechanical Conception of Life	[34]
The Cell and its Structure	[34]
Cell-division and Heredity	[40]
Reproductive Cells and Body-cells	[45]
The Origin of Conjugation	[46]
The Mechanism of Conjugation	[51]
Significance of Elementary Vital Processes	[59]
Adaptability, a Fundamental Character of Life	[63]
CHAPTER IV
The Mechanical Theory of Evolution: the Darwin-Lamarck Explanation
The Fixity of Species, how Maintained	[66]
The Mutability of Species	[67]
Lamarck’s Explanation of the Origin of Species	[68]
Natural Selection of Innate Variations	[72]
Difficulties of Lamarckism	[77]
Need of a deeper Explanation	[89]
CHAPTER V
The Mechanical Theory of Evolution: theDarwin-Weismann Explanation
Lamarck, or ‘Metaphysics’?	[91]
Weismann’s Escape	[93]
The Struggle among the Determinants	[95]
Chance-Variations and Co-adaptation	[97]
Other Difficulties of the Chance-Variation Theory	[99]
Natural Selection	[103]
Impossible before Competition Existed	[104]
Co-operation and Competition	[104]
Protective Mimicry, Inexplicable by Chance-Variations and Natural Selection	[106]
Innate Capacities of Life	[109]
Outline of Preceding Arguments	[111]
CHAPTER VI
The Directive Theory of Evolution
Nature’s Power of Response	[115]
Reinke’s Theory of Dominants	[120]
Cases of their Action in Evolution	[123]
Law and Directivity	[128]
Intelligence and Directivity	[130]
The Analogy of Social Evolution	[131]
The Analogy of Language	[133]
Synthetic Movement of the Cosmic Reason	[137]
Objections from Imperfect Adaptations and Regressive FormsStated	[143]
Mechanical and Psychic Agencies, how Distinguished	[146]
Science versus ‘Mysticism’	[150]
Reply to Objection from Imperfect Adaptations, etc.	[152]
Man, the Growing-point of Earthly Life	[154]
Immanence or Transcendence of the Cosmic Reason?	[155]
Man’s Relations to the Whole	[157]
PART II. ETHICS
CHAPTER VII
Law, Free Will, Personality
Free Will and Determinism	[161]
The Determinist Position	[163]
The Free Will Position	[164]
Conditions necessary for Free Will	[168]
Has the Will an Ethical Bias?	[169]
Limitations of Free Will	[172]
Evolution of the Will	[174]
Free Will and Monism	[176]
Free Will and Brain-structure	[177]
Relations of Mind and Matter	[186]
Immortality	[189]
CHAPTER VIII
The Ethical Criterion
The Visible and the Invisible Worlds	[194]
Dualism and Monism	[195]
Monism and the Moral Law	[198]
The Hedonistic Basis of Morals	[200]
The Natural Basis of Morals	[203]
CHAPTER IX
The Ethical Sanction
The Individual and the Whole	[208]
A Scale of Motives	[210]
Conscience and its Commands, how respectively Derived	[211]
Results of Duty and of Self-indulgence Compared	[212]
The False and the True Asceticism	[214]
Ethics for Life: Implications of this Doctrine	[220]
Is Life Dependent on Matter?	[222]
The Cosmic Life gives Immortality to the Individual	[225]
And Demands his Allegiance	[226]
Ethics Originates in the Visible Order, but does not end there	[228]
Hence, Ethics is for Death as well as Life	[229]
The Martyrdoms of Socrates and of Christ	[230]
Outline of the Conclusions arrived at	[233]
PART III. ART
CHAPTER X
Art and Life
Tolstoy’s Account of the Nature of Art	[236]
Of the Standard of Art	[241]
Of the Purpose of Art	[241]
Criticism of his Conclusions	[245]
Art, Man’s expression of Life	[246]
Art and Beauty	[251]
Order and Change as Principles of Life and Art	[253]
Classification of the Arts	[254]
Examples of the Presentative Arts—(a) Architecture	[256]
(b) Ornament	[259]
(c) Music	[261]
The Representative Arts—(a The Plastic Arts	[265]
(b) Dancing	[270]
The Evocative Art: Literature	[271]
The Union of Music and Poetry	[272]
Conclusion	[273]
APPENDIX A
Sum ergo Cogito	[275]
APPENDIX B
Co-operation and Competition	[279]
APPENDIX C
Is Life worth Living?	[282]
APPENDIX D
St. Francis the Poet	[285]
APPENDIX E
Isabella and Claudio	[288]
Index	[295]

CONTENTS