114 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 292 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



Logic ; or. The Morphology of Knowledge. By BERNARD Bo- 

 SANQUET. 2 vols. Oxford, Clarendon Pr. 8°. (New York, 

 Macmillan, I5.25.) 



This work is an attempt to reconstruct the science of logic. The 

 author is attached to the German school of philosophy, and ac- 

 knowledges his obligations to Kant, Lotze, and Hegel. The work 

 is divided into two parts, the first and larger part treating of judg- 

 ment ; the second, of inference. IVIr. Bosanquet holds that the func- 

 tion of the intellect is always the same, whether in conception, 

 judgment, or reasoning, and consequently that the common logic, 

 which treats these as distinct forms of thought, is all wrong. 

 Judgment he regards as the fundamental form of thought, the 

 other so-called forms being either varieties of this or included in it. 

 He recognizes the difference between judgment and inference, and 

 defines the former as the immediate reference of an idea to reality, 

 while in the latter this reference to reality is made mediately. One 

 consequence of this theory of the intellectual functions is, that the 

 author does not clearly distinguish the different parts of his subject, 

 and treats some of them insufficiently. Thus, he holds that con- 

 ception takes place only in an act of judgment ; and hence he gives 

 but little attention to conception as such, and leaves us in great 

 doubt as to what his views of it are. Some other topics, too, that 

 fill a large space in the common treatises, receive but scant notice 

 in this work. The syllogism, for instance, is not treated systemati- 

 cally until the last chapter but one, and then it is rather discussed 

 and criticised than elucidated. On the other hand, some subjects 

 are introduced, such as the nature of infinity, which are not usu- 

 ally treated in logical works. 



It will be seen, therefore, that Mr. Bosanquet's work differs quite 

 largely from what he calls ' the traditional logic' What is the real 

 value of his theories we shall not undertake in this brief review to 

 say, though they do not appear to us so original as the form and 

 phraseology in which they are expressed might appear to indicate. 

 But the work is suggestive, both as a whole and in special pas- 

 sages, and will doubtless give rise to much discussion. The con- 

 tribution of an individual thinker to any branch of philosophy often 

 consists, not in the discovery of new principles, but in the adop- 

 tion of a new point of view ; and this merit the treatise before us 

 unquestionably has. 



But, whatever may be the ultimate verdict on Mr. Bosanquet's 

 theories, it is impossible not to condemn his style, which is one of 

 the most obscure in English literature. Take, for instance, the 

 following sentence at the beginning of the chapter on m.odality : 

 " Modality, if it exists at all, is simply the degree in which individ- 

 ual judgments participate in the certainty of that permanent and 

 all-embracing judgment by which the individual intelligence sus- 

 tains those qualifications of the real which for it constitute reality." 

 This is an extreme case ; but there are many other passages scat- 

 tered through the work that are not much more intelligible. More- 

 over, the author uses some phrases, such as ' really real,' and ' the 

 ideal fabric of reality,' which to our mind convey no meaning at 

 all. If the new logic is to become popular, it will have to express 

 itself in plainer terms than these. 



Sound, Light, and Heat. By Mark R. Wright. London and 

 New York, Longmans, Green, & Co. 12*. 80 cents. 



This text-book by the head master of the Higher Grade School, 

 Gateshead, a manufacturing town in the county of Durham, Eng- 

 land, is one that will prove very suggestive to the teacher of ele- 

 mentary physics in our schools and colleges. It is written in a 

 somewhat categorical style, and might prove wearisome in the class- 

 room ; but wherever it is possible to have this book at hand while 

 performing the readily carried out experiments, it will surely prove 

 a valuable guide. In addition to the numerous experiments, which 

 the author deems it essential should be performed, numerous e.\- 

 amples are introduced, the author's belief being that " science has 

 been slow in following arithmetic in this matter." The object is to 

 induce the student to gain by experiment, always recognizing the 

 limitations set to the accuracy of his work, such results as he may 

 be able to use in the solution of the problems set. The experi- 

 ments demand no very large supply of apparatus, descriptions of 



that used being given either with the text or in the appendix. Little 

 space is given to theoretical considerations, " a beginner's time being 

 best spent in examining the facts of science," which facts are set 

 down, as said above, in possibly too categorical fashion to please alL 



The Spirit of Beauty. Essays Scientific and ^-Esthetic. By 

 Henry W. Parker. New York, John B. Alden. 12°. 



The intelligent reader will wonder that the same author had 

 written the first and the last essays in this work, so great is the differ- 

 ence between them in their real scientific conception. The first three 

 chapters, making more than half the volume, have some scientific 

 interest and value ; rather, however, as criticism than as a contri- 

 bution to the subject. They discuss the evolution of the beautiful^ 

 mind in animals, and the moral in nature. The author is a natu- 

 ralist, and is quite familiar with the facts and views of Darwin, 

 Spencer, and Haeckel ; and whatever restrictions he may make 

 upon them, he has made as a man who has studied the subject 

 from the inside. But the important criticism to pass upon his 

 strictures of evolution is, that it is the complaint of a mind which 

 has not the courage to reconcile itself with the new environment 

 which that doctrine has created. It is an illustration of that wide 

 and revolutionary influence upon human thought which Darwinisni 

 will exercise, when, like the theory of gravitation, it has penetrated 

 the lower intellectual strata of life. The observation of facts in the 

 organic and inorganic worlds is good ; the appreciation of the real- 

 istic tendencies of science is clear enough ; but the reflection of 

 sentiments and beliefs from an earher period fortifies the judgment 

 against taking,in the full scope of the conclusions of the scientific 

 spirit. Every thing is admitted, and even asserted as undeniable 

 fact, except the one thing needed to give these chapters a strictly 

 scientific value. The bias of preconceived opinions comes in to- 

 intrude views that are irrelevant, as well as doubtful and unimpor- 

 tant. Yet we could heartily recommend this part of the author's 

 work to amateurs who want some criticism and interpretation along 

 with their facts, and who wish to move cautiously amid the be- 

 wildering maze of phenomena presented in the study of animal life. 

 The scientist will derive less benefit from it, but he will not find it 

 without value. 



It is in the last two essays, on the rainbow and life transfigured, 

 that the most singular part of the work presents itself. It is alle- 

 gory and mysticism, — the antipodes of science. They are con- 

 ceived after the manner of Drummond's 'Natural Law in the Spir- 

 itual World.' They are worth noting as illustrations of that pecul- 

 iar psychological constitution which is partly due to the education 

 and prevailing beliefs before Darwinism appeared, and partly to 

 that persistent tendency in many minds to mistake a feeling for a 

 fact, a subjective experience for an objective reality. They may do 

 to suggest aesthetic ideas ; but it is as great a mistake to pursue 

 the emotions aroused by beautiful analogies as if they were facts, as 

 it is to look at poetry as science. Both science and art are the 

 losers by it. We believe the book would be of more value without 

 these chapters. It would certainly exercise a greater influence 

 upon the scientifically disposed mind. The author should not have 

 made the attempt to combine ffisthetics and science in his discussion. 

 The analysis and classification of phenomena, and the investigation 

 of causes, are an encumbrance to ajsthetics. because art is content 

 with the relations of things, and is not interested in their explanation. 

 Ruskin would not have committed this error ; and the author is an 

 admirer of that great art-critic. 



How to study Geography. By FRANCIS W. Parker. Engle- 

 wood. 111., The Author. 12°. 

 For a number of years the attention of geographers has been di- 

 rected to improving the methods of teaching geography. This 

 movement originated in Germany. Since the rapid growth of the 

 science of geography, the necessity has been felt of including it in 

 the course of studies of the universities. Towards 1S70 professors 

 of geography were appointed at various universities, and at present 

 it is taught at all the great German universities. Most of the stu- 

 dents who studied geography became, in course of time, teachers 

 at higher schools ; and thus a class of educationists, well versed 

 in the science of geography, grew up, and to these we owe the fun- 



