Chapter II: Part I: The Individual Organism with Regard to Form and Metabolism

*A.* ELEMENTARY MORPHOGENESIS--

Evolutio and Epigenesis in the old Sense 25
The Cell 27
The Egg: its Maturation and Fertilisation 31
The First Developmental Processes of Echinus 33
Comparative Embryology 44
The First Steps of Analytical Morphogenesis 45
The Limits of Pure Description in Science 50

*B.* EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL MORPHOGENESIS--

1. THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE PHYSIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT.
“EVOLUTIO” AND “EPIGENESIS” 52

The Theory of Weismann 52
Experimental Morphology 56
The Work of Wilhelm Roux 58
The Experiments on the Egg of the Sea-urchin 59
On the Intimate Structure of the Protoplasm of the Germ 65
On some Specificities of Organisation in Certain Germs 70
General Results of the First Period of “Entwickelungsmechanik” 71
Some New Results concerning Restitutions 74

2. ANALYTICAL THEORY OF MORPHOGENESIS 76

α. THE DISTRIBUTION OF MORPHOGENIC POTENCIES 76

Prospective Value and Prospective Potency 76
The Potencies of the Blastomeres 79
The Potencies of Elementary Organs in General 80
Explicit and Implicit Potencies: Primary and Secondary
Potencies 83
The Morphogenetic Function of Maturation in the Light of
Recent Discoveries 85
The Intimate Structure of Protoplasm: Further Remarks 88
The Neutrality of the Concept of “Potency” 89

β. THE “MEANS” OF MORPHOGENESIS 89

β′. The Internal Elementary Means of Morphogenesis 90

Some Remarks on the Importance of Surface Tension in
Morphogenesis 91
On Growth 93
On Cell-division 94

β″. The External Means of Morphogenesis 95

The Discoveries of Herbst 96

γ. THE FORMATIVE CAUSES OR STIMULI 99

The Definition of Cause 99
Some Instances of Formative and Directive Stimuli 102

δ. THE MORPHOGENETIC HARMONIES 107

ε. ON RESTITUTIONS 110

A few Remarks on Secondary Potencies and on Secondary
Morphogenetic Regulations in General 110
The Stimuli of Restitutions 113

3. THE PROBLEM OF MORPHOGENETIC LOCALISATION: THE
THEORY OF THE HARMONIOUS-EQUIPOTENTIAL SYSTEM--FIRST
PROOF OF THE AUTONOMY OF LIFE 118

The General Problem 118
The Morphogenetic “System” 119
The “Harmonious-equipotential System” 122
Instances of “Harmonious-equipotential Systems” 126
The Problem of the Factor *E* 132
No Explanation offered by “Means” or “Formative Stimuli” 132
No Explanation offered by a Chemical Theory of Morphogenesis 134
No Machine Possible Inside the Harmonious Systems 138
The Autonomy of Morphogenesis proved 142
“Entelechy” 143
Some General Remarks on Vitalism 145
The Logic of our First Proof of Vitalism 146

4. ON CERTAIN OTHER FEATURES OF MORPHOGENESIS ADVOCATING
ITS AUTONOMY 150

Harmonious-equipotential Systems formed by Wandering Cells 151
On Certain Combined Types of Morphogenetic Systems 153
The “Morphaesthesia” of Noll 157
Restitutions of the Second Order 158
On the “Equifinality” of Restitutions 159
Remarks on “Retro-Differentiation” 163

*C.* ADAPTATION--

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON REGULATIONS IN GENERAL 165

1. MORPHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION 168

The Limits of the Concept of Adaptation 168
Adaptations to Functional Changes from Without 172
True Functional Adaptation 176
Theoretical Conclusions 179

2. PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION 184

Specific Adaptedness *not* “Adaptation” 186
Primary and Secondary Adaptations in Physiology 188
On Certain Pre-requisites of Adaptations in General 189
On Certain Groups of Primary Physiological Adaptations 190

General Remarks on Irritability 190
The Regulation of Heat Production 193
Primary Regulations in the Transport of Materials and
Certain Phenomena of Osmotic Pressure 194
Chromatic Regulations in Algae 197
Metabolic Regulations 198

Immunity the only Type of a Secondary Physiological
Adaptation 204
No General Positive Result from this Chapter 209
A few Remarks on the Limits of Regulability 212

*D.* INHERITANCE. SECOND PROOF OF THE AUTONOMY OF LIFE--

The Material Continuity in Inheritance 214
On Certain Theories which Seek to Compare Inheritance to Memory 216
The Complex-Equipotential System and its Rôle in Inheritance 219
The Second Proof of Life-Autonomy. Entelechy at the Bottom
of Inheritance 224
The Significance of the Material Continuity in Inheritance 227
The Experimental Facts about Inheritance 228
The Rôle of the Nucleus in Inheritance 233
Variation and Mutation 237

*CONCLUSIONS FROM THE FIRST MAIN PART OF THESE LECTURES* 240