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 304 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

case for sociology if he had omitted the discussion leading to "merely hypothetical conclusions," 1 in the chapter on Anthropogenic Association; and he would have made a more compact and impressive presentation if he had refrained from lugging in "consciousness of kind" to display its futility. To be sure he does not err in the latter respect very often. Instead of rendering assistance in generalizing facts, this "principle" is so obviously an afterthought that I feel sure the references to it are both recent and perfunctory interpolations. 2

Book IV fairly bristles with points of antagonism which Giddings thrusts forward with the force of unsustained opinion. It is less com- pletely wrought out than the earlier portions of the work, with which it has apparently but slight connection. They ought to have furnished the data for the interpretations which it proposes. On the contrary it seems to encounter the social problem afresh and independently, and to be no nearer the solution after all. It declares : (p. 377) "Held together in social relations men modify each other's nature." This is the objective fact in a nutshell. The business of sociology is to find out how men modify each other's natures, and the work leaves the problem precisely where it found it. This concluding section is rather an outline to be filled in later than a sustained treatment of the sub- ject. It seems to have been inserted to give the appearance of formal completeness to the system. It could not be fairly discussed without rehearsal of very large portions of the laws of logic which it disregards. It shows more of the influence of Spencer than the earlier parts of the book, and it is Spencerianism at its worst.

The real process of Giddings' reasoning is hinted at in two expres- sions, " inductive verification," 3 and " in illustration and verification." 4 The method to which the phrases apply runs through the whole vol- ume, and is a reappearance of the dangerous counterfeit of induction which Spencer has done so much to circulate. It is the process by which history maybe made to teach anything, like the context-violating and word-worrying method of interpreting the Bible. It is the gold- brick scheme in logic, but it chiefly victimizes its operators.

1 P. 238. Even if the conclusions were demonstrated, they are obiter dicta so far as the immediate purpose is concerned.

., p. 169. "The consciousness of kind is the compelling power" is an assertion so manifestly unauthorized that its confident insertion between two cautious generalities is delightfully humorous.

3 P. 408. P. 414.