REVIEWS 157 



PHILOSOPHY 



(1) Essays Towards a Theory of Knowledge. By Alexander Philip, 



F.R.S.E. [Pp. 126.] (London : Routledge, 1915. Price 2s. 6d. net.) 



(2) Theosophy and Modern Thought. By C. Jinarajadasa, M.A. [Pp. 171.] 



(Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1915.) 



In the first-named of these books, Mr. Philip makes an earnest attempt to deal 

 with the problem of reality. He does not bring any new scientific light on the 

 subject : he deals with it purely by the methods of metaphysics : he has before 

 him the same data as Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, etc., and endeavours to extract 

 the truth merely by reconsideration and reflection. He will, therefore, hardly be 

 surprised to hear that we can in no way follow his conclusions, which are of a 

 similar order to those of his predecessors, and equally destined to bankruptcy. 

 From time to time, in the course of this work, a more cogent criticism is justified. 

 What does Mr. Philip mean by saying that Perfect Love can overcome Materiality ? 

 or that the " Love-divine " generated " the potent current of Life " ? Such mean- 

 ingless and mystical expressions will hardly create a favourable prejudice in the 

 scientific reader. 



However that may be, the prejudice is not nearly so unfavourable as that 

 created by a perusal of the second book under review. Mr. Jinarajadasa divides 

 his book on Theosophy into four parts, the first of which professes to furnish an 

 account of various modern theories of heredity. From this we learn that Darwin 

 based his theory of Natural Selection on the assumption that acquired characters 

 are inherited. We learn also that "the dethroning of Darwin'' was in the first 

 instance due to August Weismann, who showed "that Darwin's idea of how 

 species arose is no longer tenable." Surely it is surprising that a gentleman 

 who comes from the college of Prof. Bateson should harbour a mistake that 

 would reduce any intelligent baby to tears. Those tears, however, would soon 

 turn to screams on passing from Mr. Jinarajadasa's science to his theosophy. 

 We are there informed that every class, order, family, genus, species, etc., has a 

 " group-soul," which appears to be a sort of monster-ghost that infuses its sub- 

 stance into the various individuals making up the group. Mr. Jinarajadasa then 

 furnishes a brief account of the origin of life, which turns out after all to be quite 

 a simple matter ; for wherever a difficulty occurs, the author invents a spook to 

 account for any process he cannot understand. He then goes on to say that 

 "within us [? Theosophists] is the Light of the World, but it is now covered over 

 by our ignorance and delusion," with the latter part of which statement we are at 

 least able to agree. 



It is curious to find an author in these days who entertains the superstition of 

 reincarnation ; for Mr. Jinarajadasa makes naive attempts to identify great men 

 of modern times with certain well-known men among the ancients. He is under 

 the impression that India is the spiritual home of philosophy and knowledge : 

 ludicrous as such an opinion is, we gladly leave him in possession of Kant, Fichte, 

 Hegel, and Schopenhauer, all of whom are stated to be Indians reborn. Goethe, 

 Schiller, and others are renovated Greeks ; while — strange coincidence — Francis 

 Bacon is no other than Roger Bacon come to life again. Thus does Theosophy 

 rashly hope to save its Bacon ! 



Hugh Elliot. 



