SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. 990' 



Notwithstanding the large number of books 

 that have already been published on evolution, 

 the author of the above work believes that 

 there is still a need for another which will pre- 

 sent the subject, not as a theory that is on 

 trial, but as an established principle in terms 

 of which men must be taught to think. The 

 popular tendency to regard evolution and Dar- 

 winism as synonymous terms is the result of 

 the historical development of the theory 

 largely on the basis of facts derived from or- 

 ganic nature, and its wider application as a 

 philosophical principle has been thereby ob- 

 scured. To correct this misconception the 

 earlier chapters of the present work are de- 

 voted to an exposition of cosmic, geological 

 and atomic evolution, this last leading to a 

 brief and rather inadequate consideration of 

 the origin of life, whence there is a natural 

 transition to the discussion of organic evolu- 

 tion. Unfortunately, however, for the broader 

 conception which the author seeks to empha- 

 size, this last and more familiar side of the 

 subject is given more than three times the 

 amount of space granted inorganic evolution 

 and this is all the more regrettable since the 

 treatment of organic evolution does not com- 

 pare altogether favorably with that to be found 

 in other familiar works which naturally sug- 

 gest themselves, especially since the illustra- 

 tions are merely reproductions of well-known 

 figures from Darwin, Wallace, Weismann and 

 especially Romanes. Credit must be given, 

 however, for a clear and concise statement of 

 the various theories that have been advanced 

 as an explanation for organic evolution, Dar- 

 winism and ISTeo-Darwinism, Lamarckism and 

 JSTeo-Lamarckism, mutations, orthogenesis, 

 entelechies, Bathmism and even the meta- 

 physical subtleties of Bergson being briefly 

 expounded and criticized. 



The last hundred pages of the book are de- 

 voted to what the author terms superorganic 

 evolution, under which heading are discussed 

 mental, moral and social evolution, sufficient 

 being said upon each of these topics to give 

 the reader a fair idea of the trend of modern 

 thought in connection with questions of the 

 utmost importance to society. 



The book is one that may be sincerely recom- 

 mended. Like an earlier work by Dr. Herbert, 

 " The First Principles of Heredity," it is the 

 outcome of a series of lectures delivered to 

 popular audiences, and, while clear and con- 

 cise in statement, it is excellent reading. A 

 well-selected bibliography is appended and also 

 a glossary of unavoidable technical terms. 



J. P. McM. 



SPECIAL AMTICLES 



ON FUNDAMENTAL METHODS OF ORIENTATION AND 

 " IMAGINARY MAPS " 



The following paper presents a study of the 

 reasons why civilized man is so apt to lose his 

 bearings in unfamiliar regions. This question 

 of orientation apparently has been neglected 

 heretofore. 



In an investigation of the " sense of direc- 

 tion " or the " sense of locality," it is important 

 to classify the fundamental methods of orienta- 

 tion employed by living creatures. There ap- 

 pear to be two radically different methods ; one 

 used by civilized man, the other chiefly by liv- 

 ing creatures of a lower order. The former, 

 which employs the points of the compass, i& 

 acquired artificially by education. It is pro- 

 posed to call this the ego-centric method. 

 The latter is used not only by birds, beasts, fish, 

 insects, etc., but also, in all probability, by 

 young children and by a large proportion of 

 mankind living in an uncivilized state. In 

 this system of orientation the points of the 

 compass play little, if any, part, and it may 

 be designated as the domi-centric method. 

 The selection of these terms by the author 

 will be explained below. 



The Ego-centric Method of Orientation. — 

 Civilized man, by artificial training, has be- 

 come accustomed to orient himself by the four 

 points of the compass: north, east, south and 

 west; and indeed wherever he may be, he 

 usually finds his way by this method, except 

 in the neighborhood of his dwelling place. In 

 the immediate vicinity of the home the orien- 

 tation nearly always relates to the home as a 

 center of reference, irrespective of the points 

 of the compass, and in this limited region the 



