September 7, 191 1] 



NATURE 



329 



seen, harks back straight to Aristotle, to a twin or triple 

 doctrine of the soul. And Bergson, rising into heights of 

 metaphysics where the biologist, qua biologist, cannot 

 climb, tells us (like Duran) that life transcends teleology, 

 that the conceptions of mechanism and finality fail to 

 satisfy, and that only " in the absolute do we live and 

 move and have our being." 



We end but a little way from where we began. 



With all the growth of knowledge, with all the help of 

 all the sciences impinging on our own, it is yet manifest, 

 I think, that the biologists of to-day are in no self-satisfied 

 and exultant mood. The reasons and the reasoning that 

 contented a past generation call for reinquiry, and out of 

 the old solutions new questions emerge ; and the ultimate 

 problems are as inscrutable as of old. That which, above 

 all things, we would explain, baffles explanation ; and that 

 the living organism is a living organism tends to reassert 

 itself as the biologist's fundamental conception and fact. 

 Nor will even this concept serve us and suffice us when 

 we approach the problems of consciousness and intelligence 

 and the mystery of the reasoning soul ; for these things 

 are not for the biologist at all, but constitute the Psycho- 

 logist's scientific domain. 



In Wonderment, says Aristotle, does philosophy begin, 1 

 and more than once he rings the changes on the theme. 

 Now, as in the beginning, wonderment and admiration are 

 the portion of the biologist, as of all those who contemplate 

 the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. 



And if Wonderment springs, as again Aristotle tells us, 

 from ignorance of the causes of things, it does not cease 

 when we have traced and discovered the proximate causes, 

 the physical causes, the Efficient Causes of our phenomena. 

 For beyond and remote from physical causation lies the 

 End, the Final Cause of the philosopher, the reason Why, 

 in the which are hidden the problems of organic harmony 

 and autonomy and the mysteries of apparent purpose, 

 adaptation, fitness, and design. Here, in the region of 

 teleology, the plain rationalism that guided us through the 

 physical facts and causes begins to disappoint us, and 

 Intuition, which is of close kin to Faith, begins to make 

 herself heard. 



And so it is that, as in Wonderment does all philosophy 

 begin, so in Amazement does Plato tell us that all our 

 philosophy comes to an end. 2 Ever and anon, in presence 

 of the magnolia naturae, we feel inclined to say with the 

 poet : 



ov 70'p Ti vwv re K&y6ls. a\\' a€i' iroTe 

 ("tj ravra, Koi'Seis oldev f£ orov '(pavy. 

 " These things are not of to-day nor yesterday, but ever- 

 more, and no man knoweth whence they came." 



I will not quote the noblest words of all that come into 

 my mind, but only the lesser language of another of the 

 greatest of the Greeks : " The ways of His thoughts are 

 as paths in a wood thick with leaves, and one seeth through 

 them but a little way." 



SECTION E. 



GEOGRAPHY. 



Opening Address by Colonel C. F. Close, C.M.G., R.E., 



President of the Section. 



I propose to devote the first part of this address to an 

 examination of the purpose and position of Geography, 

 with special reference to its relations with other subjects. 

 It will not be possible entirely to avoid controversial 

 matters ; but, if some of the questions touched on are 

 controversial, this only means that these questions have a 

 certain importance. I shall try to describe the facts of the 

 case impartially. 



In the second part I shall try to indicate briefly what 

 the Government, as represented by the great Departments 

 of State, is doing for Geography. 



Part I. The Position of Geography with reference to 

 other Subjects. 



It is no secret that the geographical world is not 

 unanimous about the meaning and object of Geography. 

 The definitions suggested by such writers as Mr. Chisholm, 



1 " Met." I., 2,qB2\ 12, & c . 



2 Cf. Coleridge, " Biogr. Lit." 



NO. 2184, VOL. 87] 



Prof. Davis, Prof. Herbertson, Mr. Mackinder, or Dr. 

 Mill, are not in agreement. From time to time an attempt 

 is made to formulate some statement which shall not 

 commit the subscribers to anything very definite. But 

 differences of opinion on the subject persist. 



There are, of course, a great many ways of approaching 

 the question. Let us, for example, examine the proceed- 

 ings of such representative bodies as the British Associa- 

 tion and the Royal Geographical Society, and of such 

 assemblies as the International Geographical Congresses, 

 and let us see if we can find out what is, as a fact, the 

 scope of the subject as dealt with by these bodies. They 

 are institutions which work in the full light of day, and 

 they are too large to be dominated for any length of time 

 by individuals. If we can find any working principle, any 

 common term, amongst these societies, we shall have gone 

 some way towards arriving at a solution of the problem. 



A simple method of investigation is to discuss the 

 character of the publications of these societies and of the 

 lectures delivered before them. And I feel that I cannot 

 do better than devote most of this brief analysis to the 

 Royal Geographical Society and its admirably edited 

 Journal. Here we are on safe ground. If an inhabitant 

 of another planet wished to know what we understand by 

 astronomy we could confidently refer him to the Monthly 

 Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. If he were 

 curious about the condition of geology, we should give him 

 the volumes of the Geological Society. And, if he were 

 so rash as to ask what are the objects of the modern 

 mathematician, we should hand him the papers published 

 by the London Mathematical Society. The " Geographical 

 Journal " occupies no lower a position with reference to 

 Geography than do the other journals mentioned with 

 reference to the sciences with which they deal. 



In analysing the contributions to the Royal Geographical 

 Society, it is important to start with an honest classifica- 

 tion. In the endeavour to be impartial I have chosen the 

 classification which was adopted for the last International 

 Geographical Congress, i.e. that held at Geneva in 1908. 

 This Congress was divided into fourteen sections. It will 

 serve to clear the ground if we deal first with sections 12, 

 13, and 14; these are the Teaching of Geography, 

 Historical Geography (which was mainly concerned with 

 the history of travel and exploration), and Rules and 

 Nomenclature. For the purpose of discovering what Geo- 

 graphy is, these three sections will not be of any assist- 

 ance. Every subject has its educational side, its history, 

 and its rules and nomenclature. The subject proper was, 

 therefore, divided into eleven sections. The eleven sections 

 are the following : — 



(1) Mathematical and Cartographical Geography. 



(2) General Physical Geography. 



(3) Vulcanology and Seismology. 



(4) Glaciers. 



(5) Hydrography (Potamography and Limnology). 



(6) Oceanography. 



(7) Meteorology and Climatology ; Terrestrial Magnetism. 



(8) Biological Geography. 



(9) Anthropology and Ethnography. 



(10) Economic and Social Geography. 



(11) Explorations. 



Before applying this classification to the work of the 

 Geographical Society, I wish to call attention to the 

 extremely frank way in which vulcanology, seismology, 

 meteorology, climatology, terrestrial magnetism, anthropo- 

 logy, and ethnography are included in Geography. The 

 list, in fact, covers ground occupied by several sections of 

 the British Association. 



I have investigated the work of the Geographical Society 

 for the five complete years 1906 to 1910. The original 

 contributions to the " Geographical Journal " have been 

 examined for that period, omitting from consideration con- 

 tributions on the subjects of teaching, the history of ex- 

 ploration, and rules and nomenclature. 



There are altogether 296 original papers which come 

 under one or another of the eleven headings given above. 

 Of these papers, 171, or 57 per cent., deal with Explora- 

 tions and Travels. There is a great drop to the next 

 largest section, General Physical Geography, which 



