August 30, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



275 



Lehrbuch der allgemeinen Psychologie. Von Dr. 

 Johannes Rehmke, a. 6. Professor der Phil- 

 osophie zu Greifswald. Hamburg and Leipzig, 

 Verlag von Leopold Voss. 1894. Pp. 582. 

 The plan of this work is quite different from 

 that of the many other treatises on psychology 

 which are now issuing from the press. The 

 emphasis of its author, Professor Rehmke of 

 Griefswald, is placed throughout on the deter- 

 mination of the general questions which under- 

 lie psychological science rather than on the 

 detailed investigation of psychological phenom- 

 ena ; and he offers his results as a guide for the 

 cultivated reader as well as for technical stu- 

 dents. This plan inevitably leads to the in- 

 clusion in the one volume of two subjects, the sci- 

 ence of psychology and the philosophy of psychol- 

 ogy, which most writers nowadays endeavor to 

 keep separate. As a result the treatise divides 

 into three parts, of which the first. Das Seelen- 

 wesen, is clearly metaphysical ; the second, Der 

 Seelenaugenhlick (the psychology of the static 

 moment), and the third, Dan SeeUnleben, com- 

 bine scientific and philosophical investigations 

 in a not altogether unambiguous way. 



In philosophy Professor Rehmke belongs to 

 the sharply defined group of German thinkers 

 known as 'monists of consciousness.' In his 

 criticism of the various views of the mind, there- 

 fore, he is very severe on all materialistic views, 

 'old' and 'new,' on all positivistic tendencies, 

 and on 'neo-Spinozism,' while the current 

 theories of the ' spiritualists ' themselves find 

 sharp treatment at his hands. His own doc- 

 trine is based on his belief in consciousness as 

 the ultimate reality and insists, for its empirical 

 foundation, on the presence in all consciousness, 

 even the least developed, of the Bewustseins 

 SMfeJecf, as an essential 'moment.' If this mean, 

 'self-consciousness,' as it seems most nearly to 

 do, it is to be feared that Dr. Rehmke's funda- 

 mental position is vitiated by the now widely 

 accepted conclusion that the consciousness of 

 self or ' subject ' is not present in the beginning 

 of conscious life but comes after a period of 

 growth. The general position, on the other 

 hand, brings him into agreement with most psy- 

 chologists of the day in regard to the question 

 of ' unconscious ' psychical states. These are 

 vehemently rejected, and any theory which 



shows the faintest tendency toward a belief in 

 them is condemned out of hand. 



In the more scientific portions of the work 

 the same combination of individuality and 

 agreement with received conclusions constantly 

 manifests itself The ' elementary sensations ' 

 of the assoeiationists and evolutionists are 

 denied, and in general all ' synthetic ' theories 

 of consciousness. Indefinite, undifferentiated 

 consciousness of space is made a factor in cog- 

 nition from the start, and even in developed 

 space-perception the functions of movement 

 and muscular consciousness are minimized in 

 favor of vision. Feelings are reduced to simple 

 pleasure and pain, which, however, are as re- 

 memberable as perceptions themselves ; while 

 the burning questions of the day in regard to the 

 nature of emotions seem entirely unconsidered. 

 As against Brentano and Munsterberg the ac- 

 tuality of will is strenuously maintained, but 

 in the restricted sense of 'causal consciousness,' 

 which is further interpreted as belonging to the 

 ' Seelenaugenhlick ' and so independent of all 

 concrete action, present or represented. 



As a whole, therefore. Professor Rehmke's 

 Lehrbuch is interesting but not satisfactory. 

 Unquestionably psychology to-day, even psy- 

 chology as science, is suffering from the lack of 

 settled fundamental ideas and principles. But 

 it is very questionable whether these can best 

 be discussed in so close conjunction with the 

 attempted explanation of the phenomena of 

 concrete psychical life. And the endeavor to 

 give a complete consideration of both in a single 

 volume is, as things are now, hopeless from the 

 start. A. C. Armstrong, Jr. 



Wesleyan University. 



Paleontology of Missouri. By Charles R. 

 Keyes, State Geologist. Missouri Geological 

 Survey, Vols. iv. and v., 314 and 320 pages, 56 

 plates and a geological map of the State. 

 Jefferson City. 1895. 



This review of the fossils of Missouri is a radi- 

 cal departure ft-om the reports which are usually 

 made on the subject of paleontology. It is an 

 attempt to make this subject as economic as 

 possible in its bearing. Instead of giving new 

 names to an endless number of forms, accom- 

 panied by long technical descriptions, it has 



