Abstract
DR. CUNNINGHAM (NATURE, February 9, p. 173) cannot be more weary of this discussion than I. It is many years since I, becoming doubtful, first tried to discover the precise meaning of certain biological key-words. To this day I have not succeeded. It has been my misfortune to encounter authoritative people who, instead of perceiving that I was genuinely puzzled, thought I might do “much harm by leading many who have no special knowledge of heredity and evolution”—e.g. Professors Goodrich and Bayliss—“to distrust the work of those who are engaged in research on these subjects.” May I suggest that in this matter authority and regard for public opinion are out of place. Most biologists profess to know the meanings of their terms; but there is no agreement, and no definitions can be framed which cover the whole of common and accepted usage. A science which lacks a precise and significant means of expression labours under paralysing difficulties.
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REID, G. Some Biological Problems. Nature 109, 307–309 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/109307b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/109307b0
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