Page:Philosophical Review Volume 22.djvu/104

88 the universal life, constitute evil. Evil is thus identical with negativity and unreality and as such is opposed to goodness which consists in freedom, the realization of the universal life through the will of the individual.

The human individual is the concrete universal, is the universal spirit at a certain situation of its history, a certain episode in its career. Hence the individual who responds with all his powers to the whole situation realizes the universal life and expresses his own freedom in making a genuine contribution to the work of cosmic evolution which consists in the continual triumphing of life over death. But the will of the individual is constantly solicited by a variety of conflicting impulses to yield now to one and now to the other, thus acting arbitrarily, and negating his own freedom and reality. Goodness requires that these cravings of momentary desire be resisted, demands in fact the conquest of volitions by volition, the realization of all the possibilities of the individual and not an expression of a part of his nature. The individual who thus fully realizes himself, making the most of his situation, discharges his vocation and contributes to universal progress. In his life the universal spirit achieves its utmost in the work of its own evolution.

The practical life of man appears in two forms, based upon the two directions which human volition may take in its activity. These forms are the economic and the ethical. In his economic activity the individual is occupied solely with the conditions of his own existence while in his ethical activity his will reaches out beyond these narrower interests and devotes itself to universal ends, to the welfare of society and the cause of universal progress. The author finally considers in some detail the leading features of human conduct in these two principal forms.

In this little book, the translators have admirably succeeded in preserving the vigor and freshness of the original, a style which, in certain respects, is quite suggestive of that of Professor James. The book contains practically no criticism but aims to give us a picture of the man and a brief characterization of what he tried to do. While we feel that certain phases of the work of Professor James are hardly more than hinted at, it is not easy to see how an author could do much more in so limited a space.

An introductory chapter, entitled "Life and Personality of William James," gives an account of James's varied and unusual training, and makes especial mention of his early bent toward Swedenborgianism, an influence which affected his mature work. The chapter contains a sincere appreciation of the virility and spontaneity of James's personality, and of the directness, force, and unconventionality of his method of teaching.

The main body of the book is given over to Professor James's philosophy.