56o 



NATURE 



[January 29, 1920 



influence the direction of scientific speculation for 

 some time to come. 



In the first paper Mr. Bertrand Russell has 

 given a very lucid example of what he has de- 

 scribed as scientific method in philosophy. He 

 submits "pure experience " to exhaustive scien- 

 tific analysis. The outcome, if we follow and 

 accept the writer's argument, is surprising, and 

 probably to most people disconcerting. Like 

 Hume, he fails to discover anything in experience 

 corresponding to the subject, or anything like an 

 act of perceiving which might constitute a subject, 

 and he concludes, therefore, that the subject of 

 experience is a logical construction. The next 

 article is of more distinctively scientific interest. 

 It is a symposium on the subject of " Time, 

 Space, and Material." It is discussed from 

 several points of view, scientific and philosophical, 

 by Prof. Whitehead, Sir Oliver Lodge, Prof. 

 J. W. Nicholson, Dr. Henry Head, Mrs. Adrian 

 Stephen, and Prof. Wildon Carr. The keynote 

 is Prof. Whitehead's criticism of the concept of 

 "all Nature at an instant " and his insistence that 

 the ultimate datum of science is an event. The 

 continuity which science must hypostatise is not 

 an ether of space, but an ether of events. There 

 are two other symposia of present interest, one 

 on the problem of individuality with particular 

 reference to the concept of the relation of the 

 individual to God, the other on the epistemological 

 problem : " Is there ' knowledge by acquaint- 

 ance '?" 



The annual volume contains ten papers read 

 during the past session of varied, but without 

 exception of high, interest. The presidential ad- 

 dress by Dr. G. E. Moore on "Some Judgments 

 of Perception " is an admirable piece of close 

 reasoning in analysis of a simple judgment, such 

 as "That is an inkstand." Methodological prob- 

 lems of various kinds are discussed in papers by 

 Prof. Laird, Mr. C. D. Broad, Mr. A. E. Heath, 

 and Prof. J. B. Baillie. Prof. Wildon Carr ex- 

 pounds and defends the concept of " windowless " 

 monads. Mrs. Duddington, in a paper on "Our 

 Knowledge of Other Minds," develops an interest- 

 ing theo.ry of the immediacy and directness of this 

 knowledge. Principal Jevons writes an apprecia- 

 tion of Tagore. Mr. A. F. Shand has an original 

 study of deep psychological interest on " Emotion 

 and Value." The last paper in the volume is by 

 the Dean of St. Paul's on " Platonism and Im- 

 mortality." It is a philosophical treatment of 

 the most profound problem in social and political 

 ethics, one which, moreover, is of great scien- 

 tific interest — is there any reason to believe 

 in human progress? The Dean holds that 

 there is not. 



NO. 2622, VOL'. 104] 



MEDICAL AND SOCIAL WAR-WORK IN 

 EGYPT. 



(i) The Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt. 

 An Illustrated and Detailed Account of the 

 Early Organisation and Work of the Australian 

 Medical Units in Egypt in 1914-1915. By 

 Lt.-Col. J. W. Barrett and Lt. P. E. Deane. 

 Pp. xiv-t-259. (London: H. K. Lewis and 

 Co., Ltd., 1918.) Price 125. 6d. net. 

 (2) The War Work of the Y.M.C.A. in Egypt. 

 By Sir J. W. Barrett. Pp. xx -1-212. (London: 

 H. K. Lewis and Co., Ltd., 1919.) Price 

 I05. 6d. net. 

 (i) '"T'HE first book gives a detailed account of 

 1 the early organisation and work of the 

 Australian Army Medical Corps in Egypt. Prior 

 to the outbreak of war the Corps was of meagre 

 dimensions, in spite of the fact that compulsory 

 medical training had come into operation in Aus- 

 tralia in 191 1. When war was declared, the 

 Australian Government decided to raise and equij) 

 a division, 18,000 strong, the medical establish- 

 ment of which consisted of regimental medical 

 officers and three field ambulances. Later, 

 further divisions were raised and sent to the front. 

 It soon became clear that " lines of communication 

 medical units " were required, and the first hos- 

 pital units with a 520-bed hospital arrived in 

 Egypt in January, 191 5, and were housed at the 

 Hteliopolis Palace Hotel. This afterwards ex- 

 panded into hospital and convalescent accommoda- 

 tion consisting of 10,600 beds, and in the three days 

 April 30-May 2, 1915, no fewer than 1352 cases 

 were admitted from Gallipoli, and were success- 

 fully dealt with — a sufficient tribute to the com- 

 pleteness of the organisation. A general review- 

 is given of the sickness and mortality among the 

 Australians, and of the steps taken to prevent 

 epidemics. A chapter is devoted to venereal 

 diseases — described as being the greatest problem 

 of camp life in Egypt — in which much sound 

 advice is given for dealing with these scourges. 

 A further chapter deals with the work of the Red 

 Cross in Egypt, and in another suggestions are 

 made with the view of increasing the efficiency of 

 the Australian Army Medical Service. Sir James 

 Barrett and Lt. Deane have compiled a very read- 

 able and useful narrative, and the volume is illus- 

 trated with many plates. 



(2) This volume deals not with the general 

 work of the Young Men's Christian Association, 

 but with the special war work so successfully 

 undertaken by it in Egypt and Palestine. A brief 

 account is first given of the foundation and 

 general policy of the association and of its pre- 

 war work in Egypt. Two months after war broke 



