88 



SCIENCE, 



[\^OL. VIII. , No. 181 



ings brought together so clearly and so compactly 

 as in this little book. It should be in the hands 

 of every student of psychology, and most of it will 

 appeal even to readers who are without special 

 philosophical training. Of the translation we can 

 speak cordially, but not enthusiastically. It is 

 clear and accurate enough for all practical pur- 

 poses, though more attention to literary form 

 would have improved it. The unpardonable lack 

 of any index to such a book as this should be 

 remedied without fail, if a second edition is ever 

 called for. 



Dr. McCosh's new book ^ would undoubtedly in- 

 cur M. Ribot's condemnation ; for while recogniz- 

 ing the work of the new school in investigating 

 the relations of mind and brain, in measuring the 

 duration of psychic acts, etc., it views psychology 

 from the old-school stand-point. It is refreshing 

 to read a book so clear, so candid, and so self- 

 confident ; and, even when disagreeing with the 

 positions of the author most completely, we can- 

 not withhold our admiration from his vigor of 

 thought and expression. This book is the final 

 expression of President McCosh's well - known 

 psychological views. It is based on his academic 

 lectures, and is a direct, simple, and dogmatic 

 presentation of his system. Dr. McCosh does not 

 beat around the bush. He defines the soul as 

 " that self of which every one is conscious" (p. 1) ; 

 self -consciousness, as " the power by which we 

 take cognizance of self as acting ; say, as thinking 

 or feeling, as remembering the past or anticipat- 

 ing the future, as loving, fearing, and resolving " 

 (p. 2). We have intuitive evidence of the exist- 

 ence of the soul (p. 7). "It is not the exact or 

 full truth to say that I feel an external object, or 

 that I have an idea of it (which I may have when 

 it is not present), or that I apprehend it, or have 

 a notion of it, or believe in it : the correct expres- 

 sion is, that I have knowledge of it, or that I 

 cognize it " (p. 20). These are Dr. McCosh's postu- 

 lates, and on them his system is built up. We 

 believe that it is coherent, but that it is not scien- 

 tific. Its fundamentals are assumed, not proven. 

 It is a system that will not aUow the question, 

 ' How is knowledge possible ? ' to be raised. It 

 follows Reid and Hamilton in assuming the 

 famous distinction of primary and secondary 

 qualities without meeting the arguments of Berke- 

 ley, Kant, and Spencer. Yet we fully admit 

 that it is far easier to find fault with Dr. McCosh's 

 system as a whole than to replace it. Perhaps 

 the time has not yet come for building a complete 

 system of psychology on the new basis. 



In this book Dr. McCosh deals only with the 

 1 Psychology : the cognitive powers. By Jamks McCosh, 

 D.D„ LL.D., Litt.D., New York, Scribner, 1886. 12°. 



cognitive powers, reserving his treatment of the 

 motive powers for another volume. This we hope 

 will be issued before long, and enable us to view 

 entire the venerable author's psychological teach- 

 ing. When the history of philosoj)liy in America 

 comes to be written, it will be found, that, right or 

 wrong himself, no one has contributed so much, 

 or given such an impulse, to the study of i^hilos- 

 ophy and psychology in this country, as the dis- 

 tinguished president of Princeton. 



Of Mr. Jones's ' Human psychology ' ^ we need 

 not say much. It is principally a comi)end of 

 other persons' views in other persons' words. It 

 is not unskilfully put together, but cannot expect 

 recognition as an original or independent treatise. 

 It is of no use to the trained philosophical teacher, 

 and a poor manual to recommend to an untrained 

 student. 



Mr. Graber has recently described, in the 

 Transactions of the Vienna academy, the results 

 of observations indicating that eyeless animals are 

 sensible to light. In a box divided into compart- 

 ments, and each furnished with two openings, he 

 distributed equally a number of earth-worms. 

 One of the ojjenings in each compartment he 

 obscured or concealed, and exposed the box to 

 the light, examining the worms from time to 

 time, and adding new ones every four hours. By 

 repeated observations he found that they showed 

 a decided tendency to withdraw to the darker 

 parts of the compartments, only forty out of a 

 total of two hundred and fifty remaining in the 

 light. He also studied the influence of difi'erent 

 rays upon them, and found them susceptible to 

 the difi'erent colors. When the openings were 

 covered with blue and red glass, they manifested 

 a marked preference for the red Light, 



— Mr. A. Sanson, in an article in a recent num- 

 ber of the Revue scientifique, states, that, from a 

 comparison of animal and steam jjower, in France 

 at least, the former is the cheaper motor. In the 

 conversion of chemical to mechanical energy, |J 

 ninety per cent is lost in the macliine, against \\ 

 sixty-eight in the animal. He finds that the 

 steam horse-jDower, contrary to what is generally 

 believed, is often materially exceeded by the 

 horse. The cost of traction on the Montparnasse- 

 Bastille line of railway he found to be for each 

 car, daily, fifty-seven francs, while the same work 

 done by the horse cost only forty-seven francs ; 

 and he believes, that, for moderate powers, the 

 conversion of chemical into mechanical energy is 

 more economically effected through animals than 

 through steam-engines. 



1 Human psychology : an introduction to philosophy. 

 By E. Jones, A. M. New York, Baker dt Taylor. 



