Biology A lecture delivered at Columbia University in the series on Science, Philosophy and Art November 20, 1907

Biology — a concise, thought-provoking lecture by Edmund B. delivered at Columbia University in 1907 — reframes what it means to study life and the limits of scientific explanation. Rooted in the early 20th-century intellectual climate, this science lecture serves as an accessible introduction to the biological sciences, surveying how physiology, botany, and zoology converge on common problems. Edmund B. outlines the methods that define modern biology: careful observation, comparison, experimentation, and the reduction of complex phenomena into simpler components. He frames biology not as a single discipline but as a family of sciences united by a shared aim: to discern the order of nature in the living world while acknowledging the unfinished, provisional nature of scientific explanations. The address captures both the optimism and the humility of a formative era in biology, offering philosophical reflections on what investigators can and cannot hope to resolve. Ideal for students, science historians, and curious listeners who enjoy classic scientific lectures, this audiobook provides a compact, enlightening overview of biology’s scope, methods, and enduring questions.