On Growth and Form Themes

On Growth and Form Themes

Instruction and Learning

Thompson's text is instructional by its very nature. From the outset of the work, his purpose is solely as he himself describes it:

To correlate with mathematical statement and physical law certain of the simpler outward phenomena of organic growth and structure or form, while all the while regarding the fabric of the organism, ex hypothesi, as a material and mechanical configuration.

The entire text is then divided by topic, each one an important aspect pertaining to the study of morphology. Chapter 9, for example, is a discussion "on the theory of transformations, or the comparison of related forms," as indicated by its title. As in previous chapters, Thompson establishes first the context or frame of reference for the discussion. He repeats the path his work has so far taken, mentioning his consideration first of "the inter-relations of growth and form, and the part which physical forces...
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