Book Description

Excerpt from Heredity and Environment in the Development of Men The origin of species was probably the greatest biological problem of the past century; the origin of individuals is the greatest biological subject of the present one. The many inconclusive attempts to determine just how species arose led naturally to a renewed study of the processes by which individuals came into existence, for it seems probable that the principles and causes of the development of individuals will be found to apply also to the evolution of races. As the doctrine of evolution wrought great change in prevalent beliefs regarding the origin and past history of man, so present studies of development are changing opinions as to the personality of man and the possibilities of improving the race. The doctrine of evolution was largely of theoretical significance, the phenomena of development are of the greatest practical importance; indeed there is probably no other subject of such vast importance to mankind as the knowledge of and the control over heredity and development. Within recent years the experimental study of heredity and development has led to a new epoch in our knowledge of these subjects, and it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that in time it will produce a better breed of men. The lectures which comprise this volume were given at Northwestern University in February, 1914, on the Norman W. Harris Foundation and were afterward repeated at Princeton University. I gladly take this opportunity of expressing to the faculties, students and friends of both institutions my deep appreciation of their interest and courtesy. In attempting to present to a general audience the results of recent studies on heredity and development, with special reference to their application to man, the author has had to choose between simplicity and sufficiency of statement, between apparent dogmatism and scientific caution, between a popular and a scientific presentation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.