Page:Mind (New Series) Volume 9.djvu/286

 272 NEW BOOKS. reads easily and fluently. Unfortunately, the writer has not grasped the fact that the ' sensation ' of experimental psychology is not the knowing- atom that it is in associationisin ; and accordingly burdens his text with a number of wholly irrelevant details. Social Lines : an Outline of Sociology. By G. TARDE. Translated by H. C. WARREN, with a preface by J. M. BALDWIN. New York and London : The Macmillan Co., 1899. Pp. xi., 213. Price, $1.25 ; 6s. This is a good translation of a brilliant little book. It should, however, have been indexed ; and we regret to see that Prof. Baldwin has con- sented, even " on the insistent request of the publishers," to help perpetuate an unworthy custom. The Sl<;mnits of Vital Statistics. By A. NKWSHOLME. Third edition. London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co. New York : The MacmiOan Co., 1899. Pp. xii., 353. We are glad, in days when the biological and psychological sciences are making such wide use of the statistical method, to call attention to the new edition of this sound and wholesome book. Dr. Newshohne's third edition is, in fact, almost a new work. Fewer English tables are given ; a number of foreign ones have been introduced ; and the exact method of construction of a life-table is shown in detail. The chapters deal with population, births and deaths, disease, marriage, mortality in relation to age, climate and occupation, duration of life, statistical fallacies, etc. Syllabus of Psychology. By J. H. HYSLOP. New York : The Macmillan Co., 1899. Pp. 116. Price, $1.00. This number of the " Columbia University Contributions " contains abstracts of ten chapters upon psychological topics, entitled " Introduc- tion," "The Conditions of Consciousness," "Sensation," "The Special Senses," " Consciousness and Attention," " Memory," " Apprehension or Intuition," " Thought or Ideation," " Emotion," and " The Will or Cona- tion ". The syllabus " has been designed solely as a time-saving instru- ment in " the writer's " lectures on the subject, and as a guide to " his " students in their reading and study ". The references are only to " the current and most important English works on the subject of Psychology " (James, Baldwin, Dewey, Hoffding (!), Titchener, Ladd, Stout, Sully, Hamilton . In offering the syllabus to the general public, as well as to his classes, the author invites criticism upon his work. While it is difficult to criticise a series of propositions which must, from the nature of the case, be thrown into dogmatic and more or less aphoristic form, it may- be said without fear of unfairness that the syllabus does not present a coherent system of psychology, still less a system of modern psychology. It may be said, further, that the compilation has been carelessly done : witness the remark, " See any work on the subject of Consciousness " (p. 11); "Brain, Senses and Intellect (p. 18); " McKindrick " (p. 19); the assumption of the validity of Weber's law for temperature, with the fraction ?, (p. 26) ; the size of the finger-tip sensory circle given as " 2 m." (p. 27) ; constant references to the " Philosophic Review " ; " two instruments, which function, however, has one organ " (p. 30) ; and so throughout. We rejoice to strike a few references to the sources as we read on ; but what shall we say of " Helmholtx, Physiologische Vptik, pp. 692-695 (First Edition) " (p. 72) ? We doubt whether the syllabus, as it stands, will not waste as much time as it is intended to save.