In some ways, Dr. Geo. All theories of organic evolution, he says, have assumed a common origin, hence a common descent, and a genetic relationship between the species which have descended, and attempt to make the facts fit the theories. Actually, while the fact of evolution is accepted, neither the cause, manner, nor meaning of it is known, the causes of evolution being as mysterious as the law is certain. Dr. Austin H. Clark calls attention to the basic fallacy of neglecting psychological characteristics in favor of the purely anatomical. A mental mechanism, different in each species, controls the bodily mechanism.
Man is mentally more similar to the insects, birds, and rodents, than to the apes.
Paleontologically, a specialized creature either becomes more highly specialized or dies out. Thus if man were an ape-descendent he would be arboreal. To demonstrate this requires primarily evidence of the antiquity of man extending beyond that of the ape, and of the true chain of descent. Both are in process of emergence. But, remarks Dr. Davidson, a puzzle which they present to anthropologists is the coexistence of a complex social system with primitive economic standards.