creatures. Many times we withdraw from the world of strenuous endeavor to
think about the "meaning of things," and upon the "why" and "wherefore" of
existence itself. Every one possesses already a fund of information that
can be directly utilized during the coming discussions; for if evolution
is true as a universal principle, then it is as natural and everyday a
matter as nature and existence themselves, and its materials must include
the facts of daily life and observation.

Although the doctrine of evolution was stated in very nearly its present
form more than a century ago, much misunderstanding still exists as to its
exact meaning and nature and value; and it is one of the primary objects
of these discussions to do away with certain current errors of judgment
about it. It is often supposed to be a remote and recondite subject,
intelligible only to the technical expert in knowledge, and apart from the
everyday world of life. It is more often conceived as a metaphysical and
philosophical system, something antagonistic to the deep-rooted religious
instincts and the theological beliefs of mankind. Truly all the facts of
knowledge are the materials of science, but science is not metaphysics or
philosophy or belief, even though the student who employs scientific
method is inevitably brought to consider problems belonging to these
diverse fields of thought. A study of nervous mechanism and organic
structure leads to the philosophical problem of the freedom of the will;
questions as to the evolution of mind and the way mind and matter are
related force the investigator to consider the problem of immortality. But
these and similar subjects in the field of extra-science are beyond its
sphere for the very good reason that scientific method, which we are to
define shortly, cannot be employed for their solution. Evolution is a
science; it is a description of nature's order, and its materials are
facts only. In method and content it is the very science of sciences,
describing all and holding true throughout each one.

The overwhelming importance of knowing about natural laws and universal
principles is not often realized. What have we to do with evolution and
science? Are we not too busy with the ordering of our immediate affairs to
concern ourselves with such remote matters? So it may appear to many, who
think that the study of life and its origin, and of the vital facts about
plants and animals may be interesting and may posses