Chance or Vitalism?

Abstract

I AM glad to see that Prof. Karl Pearson has called attention to Prof. Japp's address at Bristol. Only that one does not like to criticise adversely a presidential address, I would at the time have pointed out the weakness in the argument that Prof. Pearson criticises. He does not go nearly so far in this criticism as the circumstances warrant. It is conceded that right- and left-handed crystals of quite sensible size are produced sufficiently separated to be seen and handled as separate crystals. Now assuming, what there is every reason otherwise to think quite probable, that life started from some few centres, the chances are, not that it was equally divided between right- and left-handed forms, but that one or other of these forms preponderated. In fact, if life started from a single centre, it must have been either aright- or left-handed. Hence the fact adduced only shows, what was otherwise very probable, that life started from a small number of origins, possibly only one.