The Monte Vista journal., 1897-05-29

1 delightful companion. to which add
IN untirins perseverance and energy
With an enormous capacity for work.
md you have n brief sketch OF this
'emarkable man.
He embraced In his work all fields
associated with his speciality, differing
n this respect from Joseph Leidy who.
:hough covering wider range, con-
lined himself mainly to investigation.
description and classification. while
Cope. In addition to these. devoted
much attention to Eeneralixatiops,
phylogenetic schemes and philosophi-
cal speculations. and It is In these lines
perhaps that his influence was mos,
marked. His publications, which are
voluminous. consist for the most mart
OF contributions to the reports OF the
United States Geological Survey, of
which he was for u timc paleontolo-
gist: to the proceedings OF the Ameri-
can Philosophical Society. to the pro
, cecdings OF the Academy Of Natura,
Sciences and the American Naturalist
Of which he was editor. and two vol
umes. one the Origin OF the Fittest."
published IN 1887: the other. Primary
Factors In Organic Evolution" which
appeared last ycar.
As an evolutlon!st he belonged to
that section known as the Neo.La
marckian: In fact. he was the princl-
pal advocate Of this school. which con-
tends that Darwin's law Of natural sc.
lection does not entirely satisfy all the
requirements Of organic evolution:
that the law. to which Herbert spcu.
rer has given the more comprch cnsive
name OF survival OF the Attest" In de-
fcctivc. inasmuch ~ Il does not cover
the origin Of the httcst Darwin's con-
tcntion that the tendency to variation
no two individuals being Identical
does this. being deemed inkuficIcnt.
Therefore. while sustaining natural &C.
lection no far M In their Judgment Il
satisfies the requirements. they have
recourse to the Iamnrckian hypothcscs
,f "uxc and dlsusc'' and Inheritance
Of acquired characters" as supple
mental to It. and as capable Of explain
Ing the disputed point. In order TO do
this. however. Il is necessary to fnd
\ directing cause other than natural
selection for "usc and disusc." This
Professor Cope does by nttributins IL
to organic effort. conEcioas effort, thun
cnthroning consciousness M the real
basis Of organic evolution.
He says: "Thc hypothesis Of tho
primitive and creative function Of con-
sciousncss may be called Arehacsth-.
tism." and In another place. 80 you
sec II ls n matter OF necessity that men
tai phenomena lie nt tho back Of cvo.
luton. provided always that the con-
Meeting link Of the argument that mo.
tion has ever affected atructurc-bc
true. That In n point which. Of course,
admits Of much discussion. I have
placed myself on the Affirmative uldc
NJ the question: nnd II I live long
enough I expect to sec Il absolutely
demonstrated"
lie worked ont tho hypothesis with
q great deal Of skin. and II affords an
excellent example Of his power ~ a
lo9ieIsn. but 10 some Il seems to land
him. when carried 10 Its ultimate con.
ciusion. In an untenablc position. Tho
appearance Of wcinmann's book In
1881. announcing his germ plnnm"
hypothesis. md asserting the non.in.
hcritabiiity Of acquired characters
which would. II proved. be fatal TO
cops's hypothesis. In no way diaeon-
esfted him. and the controversy be-.
tween the wsismannians. mostly Ger.
mass: The Darwinians. mostly Eng.
iiah. aad The Nso-l1amarekians, mostly
Assficass. stiii eoss o..
1ssAape Professor Coes's most In.