s of a Darwinian--Professor von
Wagner's Explanation of the Decay of Darwinism--Darwinism
Rejects the Inductive Method, Hence Unscientific--Wagner's
Contradictory Assertions 90
CHAPTER VII.--Haeckel's Latest Production--His Extreme
Modesty--Reception of the Weltraetsel--Schmidt's
Apologia--The Romanes Incident--Men of Science Who Convicted
Haeckel of Deliberate Fraud 104
CHAPTER VIII.--Grottewitz Writes on "Darwinian Myths"--Darwinism
Incapable of Scientific Proof--"The Principle of Gradual
Development Certainly Untenable"--"Darwin's Theory of
"Chance" a Myth" 118
CHAPTER IX.--Professor Fleischmann of Erlangen--Doctrine of
Descent Not Substantiated--Missing Links--"Collapse of Haeckel's
Theory"--Descent Hypothesis "Antiquated"--Fleischmann Formerly
a Darwinian--Haeckel's Disreputable Methods of Defense 124
CHAPTER X.--Hertwig, the Berlin Anatomist, Protests Against
the Materialistic View of Life"--No Empiric Proof of
Darwinism--"The Impotence of Natural Selection"--Rejects
Haeckel's "Biogenetic Law" 137
CONCLUSION.--Darwinism Abandoned by Men of Science--Supplanted
by a Theory in Harmony With Theistic Principles 146
PREFACE.
The general tendency of recent scientific literature dealing with the
problem of organic evolution may fairly be characterized as distinctly
and prevailingly unfavorable to the Darwinian theory of Natural
Selection. In the series of chapters herewith offered for the first
time to English readers, Dr. Dennert has brought together testimonies
which leave no room for doubt about the decadence of the Darwinian
theory in the highest scientific circles in Germany. And outside of
Germany the same sentiment is shared generally by the leaders of
scientific thought. That the popularizers of evolutionary conceptions
have any anti-Darwinian tendencies cannot, of course, be for a moment
maintained. For who would undertake to popularize what is not novel or
striking? But a study of the best scientific literature reveals the
fact that the attitude assumed by one of our foremost American
zoologists, Professor Thomas Hunt Morgan, in his recent work on
"Evolution and Adaptation," is far more general among the leading men
of science than is popularly supposed. Professor Morgan's position may
be stated
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