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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



sible of a psychical, but infer a physical 

 world. It also controverts all the strictly 

 idealistic hypotheses. The treatise is divided 

 into two parts, the first containing the " Gen- 

 eral Proof of Physical Realism," and the sec- 

 ond dealing with " Psychological Idealism." 

 This last embraces in successive chapters 

 criticisms of the philosophies of Descartes, 

 Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant, from the 

 author's point of view. These discussions 

 are very acute and interesting. In general, 

 it may be said that the negative part of the 

 work, or the refutation of idealistic doc- 

 trines, is more successful and more valuable 

 than the constructive portion which involves 

 the substantiation of the author's theory. 



Psychology as a Natural Science, applied 

 to the Solution of Occult Psychic 

 Phenomena. By G. C. Raue, M. D. 

 Philadelphia : Porter & Coates. 8vo. 

 Pp. 541, 1 vol. 



This is a disappointing book. Its psy- 

 chology is crude, and as " applied to the so- 

 lution of occult psychic phenomena," it does 

 not appear to solve anything. The occult 

 phenomena, indeed, are not reached till page 

 380, and the part relating to them is largely 

 taken up with extracts from well-known au- 

 thors (like those belonging to the Society for 

 Psychical Research, Mesmer, Braid, Fahne- 

 stock, and others), upon which Dr. Raue 

 makes, it must be said, some interesting 

 comments ; but he adds nothing, so far as we 

 are able to make out, to the store of human 

 knowledge upon the subject. What explana- 

 tion he does give is an application of his 

 psychology, which is based upon or rather 

 an exposition of that of Dr. Friedrich 

 Eduard Beneke, who, the author thinks, has 

 been undeservedly neglected by succeeding 

 thinkers. In this notion we can not agree 

 with Dr. Raue, because there is nothing suf- 

 ficiently significant in Beneke's work to make 

 it worth while for students of the present 

 time to recur to his writings. A sample of 

 this applied psychology is found in the ex- 

 planation of "thought-transference." The 

 latter may be understood, according to the 

 author, if we suppose that the soul actually 

 consists of different systems of substantial 

 primitive forces, having " mobile elements," 

 and producing different mental modifications 

 which are spaceless, " and consequently not 

 restricted by any corporeal distance or inter- 



ference, so that they can reach a similar 

 psychic modification in another mind as well 

 as in their own, and impart to it their own 

 state of excitement and make it conscious." 

 But how, pray, are we able to conceive of 

 motion without space or "room" for mo- 

 tion ? And if thought is thus excited in one 

 person by the attraction of similar excitation 

 in another, there being motion from the one 

 to the other, what more is this than a state- 

 ment that there is some subtle power of 

 thought - transfer which we do not under- 

 stand ? To make such an averment we 

 hardly need Dr. Raue's book. 



Thus, while the scholar will always find 

 much to interest him, and much to approve 

 in any work of this character, prepared with 

 serious purpose, we can not recommend it to 

 those who are only able to give a limited 

 amount of attention to the topics of which 

 it treats, being persuaded that they can more 

 profitably spend their time upon something 

 else. 



It is a little singular that no mention is 

 made in this book (written by a Philadel- 

 phian) of the very interesting and valuable 

 report by the Seybert Commission of the 

 University of Pennsylvania upon some of 

 the most curious of these "occult psychic 

 phenomena." 



The Philosophy of Kant ; as contained in 

 Extracts from his own Writings. Se- 

 lected and translated by John Watson, 

 LL. D., Professor in Queen's College, 

 Kingston, Canada. One vol. Pp. 356. 

 Macmillan & Co. Price, $1.75. 



Kant's Kritik of the Pure Reason Ex- 

 plained and Defended. Being Vol. I of 

 Kant's " Critical Philosophy for English 

 Readers." By John P. Mahaffy, D. D., 

 and John H. Bernard, B. D. Pp. 389. 

 Macmillan & Co. Price, $1.75. 



The demand for a return to Kant, which 

 has been evident in the philosophical world 

 for a few years past, has issued in a good 

 deal of new and valuable Kantian literature, 

 and there is likely to be more ; for it can not 

 be denied that this return to the study of 

 Kant has produced an increase of his au- 

 thoritative influence. Whatever our views 

 may be of the wisdom of pursuing philoso- 

 phy under the chief guidance of the Konigs- 

 berg sage, and whatever may be our opinion 

 of the value of his principles and method, 

 there is no doubt that a thorough study of his 



