The Biology, Physiology and Sociology of Reproduction by Winfield Scott Hall (love books to read .txt) 📕

the approach of winter, the plant passing into a resting stage from which it awakes the following spring to repeat again its annual cycle.

If he observes an animal he finds that it similarly develops to a stage of maturity, reproduces its kind, withers and dies; but incident to these general activities he notes numerous others that seem to have no relation to the activity of the plant. He sees men tilling the fields, felling the forests, building houses, factories and railroads; he sees them build hospitals, colleges and churches. Is it possible to group all of these activities of plants and animals into two general groups? A more critical view of these activities makes it evident that they are all directed either to the maintenance and protection of the individual, or the maintenance and protection of the race. Those directed towards the maintenance of self are called egoistic activities, while those directed to the maintenance of the race are called phyletic activities.

The Egoistic Activities.

The term egoistic implies that the effort is directed towards the ego or self, and includes all of those activities directed to the support, protection, defense and development of oneself. As illustrated in the plant organism, the taking of nourishment from the air and soil, the development of the stem, branches, roots and leaves, are egoistic activities. In the animal—we may take, for example, man—the egoistic activities begin with the drawing of nourishment from the mother's breast and include all those activities of early childhood usually called play, the real significance of which is to develop the neuro-muscular system and the special senses, to that condition of alertness and strength that will make the growing individual self-supporting. A very large part of the activities of the self-supporting human subject are directed towards the earning of his daily bread, and of clothing and shelter. The activities of the school and college period, devoted, as they are, almost exclusively to the development of the youth's powers, intellectual or physical, are also egoistic. Even the pursuit of pleasure and of sense gratification on the part of the individual belongs to this same group of activities.

The Phyletic Activities.

As the etymology of the term suggests, these activities are devoted to the propagation, maintenance and protection of the race.

a. Reproduction.—The most fundamental one of the activities for the maintenance of the race is reproduction. Every living organism, whether plant or animal, possesses the power to reproduce its kind. Some plants produce spores and some produce seeds. Reference was made above to the production of the flower in plants. The flower represents the reproductive organ of the plant, and the real object of the flower is to produce the seed. Animals produce eggs from which the young develop, either through a process of incubation outside of a maternal body or an analogous process within the maternal body. In the latter case the young are brought forth as living organisms.

b. Support and Protection of Offspring.—Whether we consider the plant seed, or the animal egg or newborn—in any case the parental organism must provide for the support and protection of the offspring during those stages of development when it is unable to support and protect itself.

The plant deposits in or about the seed a supply of nourishment sufficient to support it during the germinating process and until it is able to gain its own support from the soil and air. Furthermore, the plant protects the seed by means of the various seed envelopes, against the cold and moisture of winter.

In a similar way the young animal is supplied by its parents with nourishment. The young bird is incubated within the egg where a supply of nourishment is provided sufficient to develop the bones, muscles, nervous system, blood, glands and covering—all developed to a point that makes the bird able to take from the mother during the early weeks after its release from the shell, such nourishment as the mother may provide. In the meantime it must be brooded and protected in the parental nest until it is able to provide for its own protection. Similarly the young mammal is developed within the body of the maternal organism to a point where it is able to perform the primitive functions of life. For weeks, months or even years, according to the class of the animal, it must be supported and protected by its parents. The human young receives milk from its mother's breast and protection in its mother's arms during its first year, after which it continues to receive nourishment, clothing and protection under the parental roof for a period varying from eighteen to twenty years, or even longer.

c. Support and Protection of Weaker Members of Society.—Young animals are supported and protected because they are unable to support and protect themselves. If they were not thus cared for the race would become extinct. Now, there are certain individuals, orphans for example, who have, through some accident, been deprived of their natural support and protection. If these weaker members of society, not yet able to support and protect themselves, were not provided for, they would perish and become thus lost to the race. From the time of primeval man to the present, these weaker individuals of society who have been deprived of their natural protectors, have been cared for by the stronger members of society and afforded such support and protection as they may need to make them independent. In a similar way the sick and defective members of society are cared for by the strong. Thus we see that the building and maintenance of orphanages, hospitals, asylums and "homes," are activities that belong clearly to the group of phyletic or altruistic activities.

2. SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGY. Sacrifice and Compensation in Egoistic Activities.

The thoughtful student is very likely to ask—Why does man till the fields? Why does man fell the forest trees? Why does he cultivate domestic animals? Why does he delve in the earth for minerals? These are all strenuous activities that require the outlay of time, talent and strength. We may say that they are sacrifices that he makes and, apparently, willingly. We have only to study the problem more closely to see that he tills the fields and cultivates his domestic animals for food; that he fells the forest trees to make for himself shelter; that he cultivates certain plants and animals to procure for himself clothing; that he delves in the earth to bring out mineral products to use in the various industries that supply various elements of his livelihood. It becomes manifest then that the egoistic activities of an organism represent sacrifice followed by compensation. The individual sacrifices in order that he may reap his reward or receive his compensation. It may be stated as a general biological truth that, nature demands sacrifice or work on the part of all living organisms; and, under normal conditions, metes out a compensation commensurate with the sacrifice made.

Sacrifice and Compensation in the Phyletic Activities.

a. Lower Organisms.—As an example of a lower organism we may take the amoeba. If one watches an amoeba under the microscope he may see it move about the field, creeping along the surface of the glass plate; throwing out a pseudopodium here; invaginating a mouth or stomach there; taking in and digesting minute plant organisms; transporting itself across the field of the microscope through the aid of improvised locomotory organs. All these activities are egoistic. The amoeba is putting forth effort to gain its sustenance; it is sacrificing energy to receive compensation in the form of support. If we continue to watch this minute organism we will find that sooner or later it goes into a resting stage which does not last long before we can observe important internal changes making themselves manifest first at the nucleus, which slowly divides into two equal portions that separate, each carrying with it about half of the protoplasm of the parent organism. As these two young amoebae lie side by side under the microscope the thoughtful student will inquire—what has become of the parent organism? Whereas at first there was one mature amoeba, now we have before us two young amoebae of the next succeeding generation. The parent organism has sacrificed its substance and its individuality absolutely and completely for the next generation.