July 15, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



89 



age or by how many years he differs from it, 

 in advance or behind. It is applicable also to 

 many adults, who are either idiotic, imbecile, 

 or weak-minded, and can make definite dis- 

 tinctions between these three conditions. The 

 paper must be read as a whole by any one in- 

 terested, for no brief review can give the es- 

 sential details of the method, the careful 

 analyses of the factors of intelligence, judg- 

 ment, knowledge and attentiveness involved 

 in the results obtained, and the numerous 

 situations in which it is clearly shown to be of 

 value. Further instances of its application 

 appear later in this volume. 



2. L. Houllevigue : Ideas of Physicists in 

 Regard to Matter (15 pp.). — Describes mod- 

 ern views as to the nature of molecules, ether, 

 atoms, electrons and ions; shows that the 

 trinity of matter, ether and electricity is prob- 

 ably reducible to the two last named; and ex- 

 presses a hope that the universe may possibly 

 some day be explained in terms of ether alone. 



3. P. Souriau: The Teaching of Esthetics 

 (15 pp.). — -Advocates its introduction into 

 secondary schools, and outlines a course, 

 partly experimental and partly rational. 



4. E. Borel: The Calculation of Probabil- 

 ity and the Method of Majorities (27 pp.).— 

 A discussion of the value of majorities in es- 

 tablishing the probability of the correctness 

 of the opinions held by them. Among the re- 

 sults of the discussion, these are perhaps the 

 most interesting: The collective sensibility of 

 all observers may greatly exceed the individ- 

 ual sensibility of any one of them, as is shown 

 in an example of estimating weight-differ- 

 ences, where the collective sensibility was 

 twice as fine as the individual. In qualitative 

 experiments, a majority exceeding that which 

 might be due to chance establishes the exist- 

 ence of " something objective " determining 

 its direction; direct observation of the facts 

 must then lead to hypotheses concerning the 

 nature of this " something objective," and 

 these must then be verified by further experi- 

 ments. The method of majorities is a useful 

 step in arriving at truth. 



5. A. Binet: An Inquiry concerning the 

 Evolution of Instruction in Philosophy (80 



pp.). — A questionnaire addressed to the 300 

 teachers of philosophy in France, and an- 

 swered by 35 per cent, of them, justifies among 

 others the following conclusions : Apart from 

 materialism and pantheism, all types of philo- 

 sophical thought are still represented. But 

 the teaching of philosophy is undergoing an 

 evolution. There is no longer an official state 

 philosophy. The liberty of the professor is 

 increasing. Dogmatism, formal logic and 

 metaphysics are discredited, partly because 

 the importance of pure refiection has dimin- 

 ished by comparison with the splendid con- 

 quests won by e:!^perimental methods, partly 

 because of the modern demand for immediate 

 utility. Scientific and practical interests 

 prevail, especially of a sociological nature. 

 Scepticism and pessimism are disappearing 

 because the conception of philosophical teach- 

 ing has become one of practical activity. 



6. A. Imbert advocates the establishment 

 of permanent laboratories for the study of 

 fatigue, nourishment and other questions in- 

 volved in preventing overwork among pro- 

 fessional laborers (17 pp.). — There is need of 

 research to determine the daily task which can 

 be accomplished by workmen of average 

 strength and resistance without detriment to 

 their health. 



7. F. Eauh: Ethics and Biology (15 pp.). 

 —For the partisans of a biological ethics, 

 ethical facts are reducible to biological facts. 

 It is true that knowledge of biological laws 

 modifies profoundly our ethical conceptions. 

 But the relation is one of impulsion, of in- 

 spiration, not of identity. 



8. E. Goblot: Mathematical Demonstra- 

 tion: Criticism of the Theory of M. Poin- 

 care (20 pp.). — In mathematical demonstra- 

 tion, the consequence results from the prin- 

 ciples, but is not contained in them as is true 

 in a syllogism. Poincare solves the difficulty by 

 regarding reasoning by recurrence, or mathe- 

 matical induction, as the true mathematical 

 method and a form of synthetical judgment 

 a priori. Goblot disputes this view, holding 

 that it is the constructive activity of the 

 mind, exfoliating the given facts, that dis- 

 covers the new results; not inductive, not 



