Our Understanding Of The World Is Achieved

The History Of Science Knows Scores Of Instances Where An Investigator Was In The Possession Of All The Important Facts For A New Theory But Simply Failed To Ask The Right Questions.

A Species Consists Of A Group Of Populations Which Replace Each Other Geographically Or Ecologically And Of Which The Neighboring Ones Integrate Or Hybridise Wherever They Are In Contact Or Which Are Potentially Capable Of Doing So (with One Or More Of The Populations) In Those Cases Where Contact Is Prevented By Geographical Or Ecological Barriers.

All Interpretations Made By A Scientist Are Hypotheses, And All Hypotheses Are Tentative. They Must Forever Be Tested And They Must Be Revised If Found To Be Unsatisfactory. Hence, A Change Of Mind In A Scientist, And Particularly In A Great Scientist, Is Not Only Not A Sign Of Weakness But Rather Evidence For Continuing Attention To The Respective Problem And An Ability To Test The Hypothesis Again And Again.

Evolution Thus Is Merely Contingent On Certain Processes Articulated By Darwin: Variation And Selection.

Biology Can Be Divided Into The Study Of Proximate Causes, The Study Of The Physiological Sciences (broadly Conceived), And Into The Study Of Ultimate (evolutionary) Causes, The Subject Of Natural History.