ABSTRACT
It will have been seen from the previous chapter that biology in our own day has distinguished itself far more through practical detailed research than through theoretical speculations. Actually no further generally accepted theory of life such as that offered by Darwinism has been discovered; instead, there has prevailed a restless search for fresh grounds on which a theory of life might be built up. Many have been the roads along which the search for the theoretical solution of the problem of life has been made since the turn of the century, and they have run in widely differing directions. On the one hand, we find repetitions in a newer form of the old materialistic and mechanistic theories of life from the days of Vogt and Haeckel; on the other hand, vitalistic ideas that have looked for support in Bichat, in Stahl, in Aristotle. The old antagonism, Christian conservatism versus Darwinistic radicalism, which half a century ago resulted in the formation of parties, has now been essentially adjusted, though in no wise everywhere eradicated; in this respect it must be acknowledged that the struggle in modern times is more definitely a matter of facts than it was previously, at least among students, but the differences of opinion have in many quarters certainly been sharp enough. It is possible to give here only a few examples of views taken from the rival camps, this as a final summary of the position of biology as it stands in the present generation; unfortunately it is more difficult than ever to draw conclusions from them as to the direction likely to be taken by evolution in the future.
