. Principles of modern biology. Biology. 12 - The Cell upon superstition to cover his ignorance of natural events; and this led to the creation of many gods: of the wind, the sun, the harvest, and so forth. But even at the dawn of civilization, some capacity for accurate observation was gradually developing, as can be seen in the records of animal and plant life that the cave dwellers painted by torch- light on the walls of their ancient homes (Fig. 1-7). during the past 75 years—well within the memory of our fathers and grandfathers— research laboratories have developed in every important uni
. Principles of modern biology. Biology. 12 - The Cell upon superstition to cover his ignorance of natural events; and this led to the creation of many gods: of the wind, the sun, the harvest, and so forth. But even at the dawn of civilization, some capacity for accurate observation was gradually developing, as can be seen in the records of animal and plant life that the cave dwellers painted by torch- light on the walls of their ancient homes (Fig. 1-7). during the past 75 years—well within the memory of our fathers and grandfathers— research laboratories have developed in every important university, in every industry, and in every part of the world. This new group of workers has been carefully trained in the scientific method, and has widely extended the frontiers of natural science. Consequently the present-day student of biology, chemistry, physics, or other science begins work with a. Fig. 1-7. Scientific observation began in prehistoric times. Cro-Magnon artists in the Cavern of Font de Gaume. (Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History, New York.) Early civili/ed men, especially the Egyp- tians, Creeks, and Romans, began to use direct observation rather than superstitious tradition as the basis of their thinking. In fact the ancients began to test their conclusions by experiment, and many roots of otir scien- tific knowledge can be traced back into the classical period. But the scientific attitude did not survive. After the decline of the Romans, supersti- tion prevailed again for almost fourteen cen- turies. The scant scientific knowledge that survived the Dark Ages was "second hand" —passed on from generation to generation, chiefly by the medieval monks. During the Renaissance, much of the an- cient learning was revived, and science began to gain a new momentum. Gradually the sci- entific method came into its own. Especiallv double heritage. He receives not only a large fund of knowledge, tested by the scientists of every nation, but
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