6j 



NATURE 



[Septembers, 192 i 



primary task of physiology is to enlarge the vision 

 of man and enrich his knowledge of truth ; to find 

 power to diminish pain and restore health is a 

 secondary task which must not be allowed to 

 obscure the primary and greater aim. 



Mind and Consciousness. 



In Section J (Psychology) Prof. Lloyd Morgan 

 deals with the status of mind and consciousness in 

 what he speaks of as emergent evolution — the 

 word "emergent" being here used in the sense 

 suggested by G. H. Lewes in distinction from 

 "resultant." In line with Prof. Alexander's treat- 

 ment in "Space, Time, and Deity," ascending 

 stages in evolution of (i) the physical, (2) the 

 chemical, (3) the vital, and (4) the conscious are 

 emphasised. In each a new " quality" is found and 

 must loyally be accepted as given. But the physi- 

 cal and the conscious are regarded as heterogeneous 

 in that the latter is felt or enjoyed. If we may 

 infer that life process, as such, is accompanied by 

 enjoyment, its affective integration may primarily 

 be that to which the ill-chosen adjective "uncon- 

 scious " should be applied. It is urged that since 

 this word is " served with a negative prefix," it is 

 imperative in some way to define the conscious. 

 Differentiating criteria are suggested in the 

 presence of some measure of (a) revival, (b) ex- 

 pectancy, and (c) objective reference. That which 

 is unconscious is characterised by the absence of 

 these criteria. The distinction between subliminal 

 and supraliminal is, on this view, different from 

 that between unconscious and conscious. There 

 is much supraliminal enjoyment which is un- 

 conscious if these criteria of consciousness be 

 accepted. It is keenly enjoyed, but without felt 

 " againness " in revival or " comingness " in ex- 

 pectancy. In the development of consciousness, 

 two levels are recognised : (i)the unreflective stage 

 of naive perceptual cognition, and (2) the reflective 

 stage of judgment where "values " — truth, beauty, 

 and ethical goodness- — are emergent. A distinc- 

 tion is drawn between scientific interpretation and 

 metaphysical explanation. At any given level 

 science interprets the emergent characters found 

 therein as dependent on, but more than, those 

 which obtain at lower levels ; metaphysics inter- 

 prets the lower in terms of that which is reached 

 at a higher stag"e, and ultimately the highest. 

 Each may be valid in its appropriate universe of 

 discourse. They should be regarded as comple- 

 mentary and not antagonistic. 



Plant Evolution. 



The subject of Dr. D. H. Scott's address to 

 Section K (Botany) will be "The Present Posi- 

 tion of the Theory of Descent in Relation to the 

 Early History of Plants." The first part of the 

 •address is concerned with general questions, and 

 especially emphasises our present ignorance of the 

 methods of evolution. The advent of genetics 

 marked the end of the Darwinian period. The 

 absence of satisfactory evidence of variation is 

 pointed out, and attention is directed to the new 



NO. 2706, VOL. 108] 



theory of the oirigin of species by crossing. The 

 prevalent attitude towards the doctrine of natural 

 selection is briefly criticised. The essential ser- 

 vice rendered to biology by genetics, in ensuring 

 that organisms should be thought of as races 

 rather than as isolated individuals, is recognised. 

 The question of the conception of a "species" is 

 touched on in passing. 



The second and larger portion of the address is 

 occupied with questions relating to the early his- 

 tory of plant evolution. Such inquiries, though 

 necessarily speculative and, from a post-Dar- 

 winian point of view, more difficult than ever, are 

 not regarded as hopeless. The transmigration 

 from sea to land is discussed in the light of our 

 newly acquired knowledge of an early Devonian 

 land flora. The affinities of the Rhynie plants and 

 their allies in relation to Pteridophyta, Bryophyta, 

 and Thallophyta are considered, and the bearing 

 of the new data on the homologies of the sporan- 

 gium is indicated. The question of the existence 

 of ferns in the older Devonian flora is discussed. 

 The independence and antiquity of the seed-plant 

 phylum are maintained, and in connection with this 

 subject a brief sketch is given of our present know- 

 ledge of the Pteridosperms and of their relation to- 

 other Spermophytes. In conclusion, the current; 

 monophyletic and polyphyletic hypotheses of the| 

 origin of vascular plants are contrasted. 



Education in Music. 



Sir Henry Hadow urges in his addres^ 

 to Section L (Education) that music shoulc 

 be recognised in our forrtial education oX 

 school and college, and that it should be given 

 place in the curriculum and full recognition in th« 

 examination system. He suggests that music foi 

 the whole school should consist of little more than^ 

 class singing and an occasional concert or lecture, 

 and that those who have the taste and aptitude 

 for pursuing its serious study should do so in sub- 

 stitution for some other subject. The study of a 

 great composer might be made of as much educa- 

 tional value as that of a great poet. On the other 

 side, the qualities of abstract thinking and of 

 mental construction implied in the study of musical 

 form are closely analogous to those of our natural 

 sciences, and might well be made of the same 

 educational value. It should be quite possible to 

 draw up a syllabus for music which would fit into 

 the existing schemes of school and college work, 

 and would not encourage faddists, or excuse idlers, 

 or produce that lamentable class of people, 

 not yet quite extinct, who talk emotionally about 

 music without any understanding:. There should 

 also be a great improvement in the place of music 

 in our libraries. Every publ'c library in the coun- 

 try, and, if possible, every school and university 

 library, should contain a musical department which 

 includes not only the standard classical composi- 

 tions, but also the first-rate books on musical 

 aesthetics and criticism. Moreover, our attitude 

 towards music needs to be simplified. We want 

 really to pool our knowledge, to concentrate our 



