Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 8.djvu/280

 266 NEW BOOKS. himself to commit the sin that doth so easily beset a lecturer, that of reiteration and labouring his point. And, on the other hand, there are portions of the book (e.g., the note on the Association of Ideas and the chapter on the Philosophy of the Absolute) where the discussion is either too condensed to be useful to the student or too general to be adequate to the subject. Of course the improvement of the book in this respect would mean its enlargement, and even the most comprehensive books have spatial limits. Without attempting to discuss the book in detail, one may remark upon the excellence of Prof. Watson's exposition and his acute yet sympathetic criticism in the chapters and notes which refer to Descartes, and Kant, and in the notes on " The Platonic and Aristotelian Criticism of Phenomenalism " and on the views of Aristotle and Hegel regarding the principle of identity. This last note and the note on Descartes and Kant are the most valuable parts of the new material in the volume. The treatment of Mr. Spencer's position is also very clear and fair, and the exposition and criticism of Mill is on the whole very good, although on particular points (e.g., the question of the inconceivability of the; opposite as a test of truth) Prof. Watson's argument seems to some extent open to objection. In the new matter there are several things, which, apart from their general value, will be of special interest to readers of MIND. In a note on " Agnosticism and Scepticism," Prof. Watson argues acutely against the scepticism of Mr. Alfred Sidgwick,. as expressed in an article in MIND (N.S., vol. iii.), and in another note on " The Feeling Soul " there is a very interesting appreciation and criticism of Mr. Bradley's remarkable article in MIND (O.S., vol. xii.),. in course of which, with much justice, Prof. Watson suggests that Mr. Bradley's position seems to imply the introducing into Psychology of the " preformation " theory of development, which has been discredited in biology. Again, in an admirable discussion of Lotze's theory of know- ledge, Prof. Watson traces to the influence of Lotze the distinction which Mr. Bradley draws between ideas as ' events '. and as having ' content,' a distinction which, in the form in which it is made, has had a baneful effect on the argument both of the Principles of Logic and of Appearance and Reality. Mention ought also to be made of the note on " The Problem of Human Freedom," in which there is some excellent criticism of the Kantian element in the work of T. H. Green. Such discussions as these make the book much more than a mere manual for students. While the main argument runs on familiar lines,, it has the freshness that comes of contact with present questions. E. LATTA. The Mental Affections of Children : Idiocy, Imbecility, and Insanity. By WILLIAM W. IRELAND, M.D. London: J. & A. Churchill;: Edinburgh : James Thin, 1898. Pp. ix., 442. In his book on the Mental Affections of Children : Idiocy, Imbecility f and Insanity, Dr. Ireland continues the studies of his former book, Idiocy and Imbecility, incorporating part of the old material. Like the earlier book, this is written mainly for the practical alienist ; but it is. not without material for theoretic study, and Dr. Ireland does " not yet despair of receiving some little attention from the students of psychology in Great Britain " (as well as America). He writes out of the fulness of a long experience among idiots and imbeciles ; his many contributions to his selected region of studies have found recognition in all the standard