Dale's an Introduction to Social Biology

504 Pages·1971·27.914 MB·English

by  Susan Dale (Eds.)

TO MY PARENTS
WHO MADE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE
1
DALE'S
AN INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIAL BIOLOGY
Edited by SUSAN DALE, B.Sc,
Head of Biology, Strode's School, Egham
FOURTH EDITION
LONDON
WILLIAM HEINEMANN · MEDICAL BOOKS · LTD.
First published September 1946
Reprinted October 1947
Second Edition, March 1949
Third Edition, January 1953
Reprinted with revisions, February 1959
Revised reprint, May 1964
Fourth Edition April 1971
PHYLLIS DALE and SUSAN DALE TUNNICLIFFE, 1971
SBN: 433 07060 9
Printed in Great Britain by
The Whitefriars Press Ltd., London and Tonbridge
INTRODUCTION TO THE THIRD EDITION
THERE is an increasing tendency in teaching modern science to try,
as it were, to take it out of its laboratory context and set it against
the background of human activity, where it properly belongs. Biology,
the science of life, particularly lends itself to this treatment.
There is a growing belief that every pupil who leaves school should
take with him some knowledge of certain biological facts and principles.
And this for two reasons : (1) a knowledge of these facts is essential in
order to live a satisfactory physical life, and (2) appreciation of certain
broad biological principles enables the individual to use rightly that
raw material from which he gradually constructs a personal philosophy
of living.
In so far as these two issues may be separable, the first is dealt with
mainly in Chapters IV to IX inclusive, while the second is more the
concern of the remainder of the book.
This book is the outcome of a series of discussions held with the
combined Sixth Forms (Arts, Science, and Modern) of a large boys'
secondary school, and devised with this twofold object. As the
discussions proceeded it became apparent that boys of this age had
their interests both in the biological aspects of existence, and in man
as an animal, already broadly conceived. Consequently the scope of
the discussions tended to become ever wider ; and, though the primary
object of the course was not lost sight of, much material not strictly
biological was discussed. Aspects of politics, theology, morality,
spiritualism, propaganda, philosophy, and kindred subjects, came
under review. The author soon realised that a degree course in
biology was a not altogether adequate preparation for the task he had
undertaken, and a considerable amount of supplementary reading had
to be done to enable some measure of authoritativeness to be brought
to the discussions.
It is hoped that this book will help to satisfy a definite need for
Sixth Form " General Courses " in schools, and cultural courses in
adult education. Obviously a work of this nature must necessarily be
experimental. Criticisms and suggestions from teachers and others as
to how the book may be improved will therefore be most welcome.
A. D.
BAKE WELL, 1958.
ν
INTRODUCTION TO THE FOURTH EDITION
WHEN my father wrote this book it was at the beginning of the
movement to break the straight jacket of specialisation in Sixth Form
teaching. Now such an ideal is widely accepted. It gives me particular
personal satisfaction that I am able to continue his aims and to help
further his work which was cut short by his tragically early death
in 1960.
I hope that, with the appearance of a new edition, this book will
continue to be found useful for general courses in the Sixth Form as my
father envisaged, such as the courses followed for the N.U.J.M.B.
"A" Level paper in General Studies. It is hoped that this book will
contribute to foundation courses in psychology and sociology which
are being introduced into Sixth Form curricula; to the Social Biology
option for Teachers' Certificates and B.Ed, degrees; Health Education
in postgraduate education studies; and also in introductory courses of
interdisciplinary degrees. Not only will students of biological sciences
find much in this text which is useful, but so also will those who are
interested in the biology of their own species and its interaction with
other living organisms.
I have attempted to update the contents of this book within the
structure of the original text, and added a short appendix concerned
with inheritance and DNA.
S. D. T.
WINDSOR, 1971.
vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO THE
THIRD EDITION
THE author wishes to acknowledge the generous help he has received
from many friends during the preparation of this book. In particular
I would like especially to thank the following :—
My friend and colleague, C. B. Shore, for preparing Figs. 56, 122,
198, 200, 202, 204, 205, 206, and 210 ; my former pupil, H. Wade, for
making the drawings for Figs. 11, 12, 13, 17, 22 and 62 ; my pupil,
A. J. Grunau for making the drawing for Fig. 73 ; Dr. C. F. Robinow
for taking photomicrographs specially for Figs. 59, 68, 75 and 128 ;
Dr. Miles for providing the original photographs from which Fig. 105
was made ; the Director of the Whitechapel Clinic for the photo-
micrographs for Figs. 131 and 133 ; Mr. L. R. Broster for Fig. 53 ;
Dr. Darlington for providing the original photograph for Fig. 77 ;
Messrs. Cadbury Ltd. for supplying photographs for Figs. 135 and
175 ; Messrs. Lyons and Co. for supplying material from which Fig.
174 was drawn ; The Liebel-Flarsheim Co. for supplying a photograph
of the Kettering Hypertherm in Fig. 132 ; the Kodak Medical Dept.
for the original of Fig. 147 ; the Director of the Wellcome Research
Institute for the original photographs from which Figs. 154 and 161
were made ; Dr. C. E. Keeler for original photos of a piebald negro
for Fig. 96 ; Mr. M. C. Merrill, Chief of Publications, U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture, for material to enable Fig. 180 to be made ; Prof. J.
Trefouel, Director of the Pasteur Institute, Paris, for the original
photograph for Fig. 148 ; the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office
for permission to reproduce Figs. 157, 158 and 193, also Tables IX,
XX, XXI, XXII and XXIV ; the Editor of" Post-Graduate Medicine "
for Fig. 165 ; Parke-Davis & Co. for Fig. 162 ; the Central Office of
Information for Figs. 156 and 190 ; Mr. Giles, Registrar of the British
Optical Association, for assistance in connection with Fig. 145 ; and
Dr. F. Sherwood Taylor for advice concerning the invention of the
thermometer and the ophthalmoscope. I wish also to thank those
authors and publishers who have permitted the reproduction of illus-
trations from their books, details of which are given in the text or
after the illustrations concerned.
I should like to thank A. J. Low, M.Sc, for reading through the
MSS. and making valuable criticisms, and S. F. Marshall, M.A., B.Sc,
whose constructive comments materially affected the final form of the
book ; also Prof. Charles Singer for reading and criticising Chapter VIII,
and Dr. Frank Wokes for reading and criticising Chapter IX.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to my friends Miss R. Askew, B.Sc,
and Messrs. R. B. Whellock, B.Sc, H. L. Hoyce, M.Sc, D. Riley, B.Sc,
vii
viii A C K N O W L E D G M E N TS
and L. P. Ibbotson, M.A., for the manner in which they performed the
very onerous task of correcting the proofs. My wife has been a
constant source of encouragement while I have been preparing the
book, and she has helped me in a hundred and one ways. For this, and
for her patient forbearance, I give her my sincere thanks.
Finally, I would pay tribute to my publishers, with whom my
relations have been most cordial. Especially must I thank Dr. Johnston
Abraham who has read through the book at all stages and has made
many valuable suggestions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO THE
FOURTH EDITION
I WISH to thank the many people who gave me both help and
encouragement whilst I was preparing this new edition. In particular
I would like to thank the following:—
Professor Michael Abercrombie ; my friend and my father's former
pupil Dr. Brian Cole for assisting with Chapter VII ; Mr. W. J. Garnett
for providing his photographs from which Figs. 31 and 65A were made
and for making the black and white prints for Figs. 54 from my father's
colour transparencies which are in Mr. Garnett's collection ; Mr. C.
Green of the Thoracic Surgery Unit, Guy's Hospital, for advice on
heart-lung machines ; Dr. John Napier for advice on Fig. 19 ; Dr.
Τ. A. M. Nash for kindly supplying recent information about the
situation at Anchau ; Dr. Kenneth Oakely for advising on aspects of
Chapter II ; Mr. John Phillip for taking the electronmicrographs from
which Figs. 29 and 213 were made ; Miss Margaret Sweeting for helping
with information for Chapter X ; Dr. Waddy for discussing aspects of
Chapter VII ; Dr. Weidman for his invaluable criticism of Chapter V ;
The Director of the Office of Health Economics ; The Director of
the Wellcome Medical Museum for helping me obtain photographs
from which Figs. 155, 164 and 173 were made. To the publishers,
individuals and institutions who have given me their permission to
use certain figures I want to express my sincere thanks ; the sources
of these illustrations are acknowledged in the appropriate caption.
I would like to record my gratitude to Professor J. E. Webb and
the Zoology Department of Westfield College, University of London,
for their counsel and tolerance.
Just as she was to my father, my mother has been a constant source
of encouragement during the years whilst I have been preparing this
edition. Finally, I must thank my husband, Denis Tunnicliffe, for
his advice and forebearance,
viii A C K N O W L E D G M E N TS
and L. P. Ibbotson, M.A., for the manner in which they performed the
very onerous task of correcting the proofs. My wife has been a
constant source of encouragement while I have been preparing the
book, and she has helped me in a hundred and one ways. For this, and
for her patient forbearance, I give her my sincere thanks.
Finally, I would pay tribute to my publishers, with whom my
relations have been most cordial. Especially must I thank Dr. Johnston
Abraham who has read through the book at all stages and has made
many valuable suggestions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO THE
FOURTH EDITION
I WISH to thank the many people who gave me both help and
encouragement whilst I was preparing this new edition. In particular
I would like to thank the following:—
Professor Michael Abercrombie ; my friend and my father's former
pupil Dr. Brian Cole for assisting with Chapter VII ; Mr. W. J. Garnett
for providing his photographs from which Figs. 31 and 65A were made
and for making the black and white prints for Figs. 54 from my father's
colour transparencies which are in Mr. Garnett's collection ; Mr. C.
Green of the Thoracic Surgery Unit, Guy's Hospital, for advice on
heart-lung machines ; Dr. John Napier for advice on Fig. 19 ; Dr.
Τ. A. M. Nash for kindly supplying recent information about the
situation at Anchau ; Dr. Kenneth Oakely for advising on aspects of
Chapter II ; Mr. John Phillip for taking the electronmicrographs from
which Figs. 29 and 213 were made ; Miss Margaret Sweeting for helping
with information for Chapter X ; Dr. Waddy for discussing aspects of
Chapter VII ; Dr. Weidman for his invaluable criticism of Chapter V ;
The Director of the Office of Health Economics ; The Director of
the Wellcome Medical Museum for helping me obtain photographs
from which Figs. 155, 164 and 173 were made. To the publishers,
individuals and institutions who have given me their permission to
use certain figures I want to express my sincere thanks ; the sources
of these illustrations are acknowledged in the appropriate caption.
I would like to record my gratitude to Professor J. E. Webb and
the Zoology Department of Westfield College, University of London,
for their counsel and tolerance.
Just as she was to my father, my mother has been a constant source
of encouragement during the years whilst I have been preparing this
edition. Finally, I must thank my husband, Denis Tunnicliffe, for
his advice and forebearance,
AN INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIAL BIOLOGY
CHAPTER I
LIFE IN SPACE AND TIME
IT is a peculiarity of the human mind that familiar everyday things
are taken for granted and are rarely the subject of speculation. Fami-
liarity breeds indifference and mental blindness. For instance, when
the water is run out from a bath a whirlpool forms over the plug-hole.
Everyone has baths, yet few people will have pondered on the whirl-
pool and wondered what causes it, or thought whether the direction
in which the water rotates can easily be changed, or what factors
determine the direction of swirl. Similarly, gardeners who sow parsnip
seed expect parsnip plants to come up, and when the parsnips do come
up the gardeners do not bother to think why this should always be so,
because they find nothing remarkable in the fact that parsnips always
beget parsnips. If seeds gathered from a broad bean plant gave rise
to a crop of onions, or if a doe rabbit gave birth to a litter of kittens,
it would be considered wonderful, yet the fact that plants and animals
always reproduce their own kind is equally wonderful. Again, the
passage of time is a familiar experience for everyone ; so familiar,
indeed, that its nature is rarely considered, except by the most pene-
trating thinkers.
That is how it is with the phenomenon of Life. Everyone is born
alive into a living world, and soon recognises that there are two kinds of
matter: the living and the non-living. The difference is simply
explained by the assumption that the former possesses a property
called Life which the latter lacks. Here, for most people, speculation
stops. Life for them is a fundamental, and they are not concerned
with an exact definition or a close examination of its attributes. They
accept it as they find it. It can be stated at once that precise ideas
on the nature of life have not yet been arrived at. Neither the experi-
mental biologist nor the philosopher has obtained a satisfactory answer
to the question : " What is Life ? " ; nor can either explain exactly
wherein lies the difference between a sparrow chirping under the eaves
and that same sparrow dead on the garden path. It may be that there
is no answer beyond the simple statement that the one has life and the
other has not ; in other words, Life may be a fundamental incapable
of explanation in terms of other phenomena.
Here all that can profitably be said is that Life is an attribute
possessed by certain things (living organisms) for a certain period
(from the time of their origin until death), and that it appears to be
ι
2 SOCIAL BIOLOGY
intangible, massless, and invisible, and can only manifest itself by
utilising matter. It would thus seem to be a kind of abstraction, like
Beauty. The matter imbued with life, which is, of course, a different
thing from Life itself, is still susceptible to the ordinary laws of physics
and chemistry, but in addition seems to have certain attributes of its
own. It is not impossible that Life may exist " neat " so to speak,
without permeating matter at all. The idea of a centralised pool of
Life, to which all Life returns after the death of the host-matter, is
attractive in this connection. In this context we may also ask, " What
is Death? ". It is thought popularly that death, in man, is the combina-
tion of the effects of the cessation of the heart beat and breathing.
Death is regarded as the departure of the Life Essence. Scientifically
the death of the body as a whole, called somatic death, and the death
of individual body cells are recognised as two different phenomena.
However, such definitions are arbitrary because different cells of the
body die " individually " faster than others in different locations in
the body. The cells of the central nervous system are far more vulner-
able to oxygen lack than are any other cells. They become function-
less, that is they die, whilst other cells in the body are still alive bio-
logically. Thus, respiration and circulation may be restarted in a
conventionally dead body so that it appears to be alive again but the
body will remain unconscious. It will be just a respiring mass of
organic matter. The medical techniques which restore and the machines
which maintain circulation and respiration pose vast problems which
previously have been confined to the realms of science fiction. What is
the legal position? Now laws are passed defining the conditions to be
met for a " legal " death to be deemed to have occurred. The mind
boggles at the possible results of a situation where a man is able to
" revive " the dead. At the touch of a switch the working of a life-
maintaining machine could cease. Would this be homicide on the part
of the switch operator? This is a frightening ethical situation revolving
around the reversibility of the revival process created by man's
technology.
All living bodies are derived from other living bodies by some form
of reproduction, which is essentially the separating off from a parent
organism of a bit of material with its contained Life. It is significant
that, as far as we know, Life never enters into possession of previously
non-living matter and makes it " come alive ", although living material
may grow by incorporating into itself non-living food. Whether the
Life in a grown man is the same Life that was in him when he was a
child it is impossible to say ; and whether it is necessary for the " Life
essence " in a child to " grow " to keep pace with the growth of body
substance also cannot be determined, because there is no means of
measuring " quantity " of Life. All that is known for certain is that
the manifestations of Life certainly go on at different rates both in