Page:Philosophical Review Volume 23.djvu/711

No. 6.] teacher who is endeavoring to keep his balance amid the confusion of present-day educational theory.

The author's prime endeavor is to show, in opposition to Verworn and von Hansemann, a distinction between the cause and the conditions of an event; this naturally involves as a secondary aim, some definition of the causal relation. Herr Heim first demonstrates by examples that not all the conditions of a given result are of equal value, though all may be equally necessary. Some contribute the positive amount of work that is done, others determine the mode in which this work is accomplished. In fact, a typical case of causation, drawn from mechanics, may be exhaustively analyzed into the factor that performs work, and the factors that by their resistance fix the character of the effect. The former agent is the cause, the latter are the conditions in the proper sense. In the motion of the billiard-ball, the stroke of the arm is the cause, the elasticity of the ball and cushions, the friction of the cloth, the temperature, etc., are the conditions. "Ursache ist eine Sache welche Arbeit leistet" (p. 25) and "Bedingungen sind (ausser der Ursache) Dinge, auf welche Arbeit geleistet wird (bearbeitete Dinge)" (p. 26). Further characteristics of causality are: (1) a cause may be a thing, person, state, or process (p. 28 and pp. 53 ff.), (2) the cause is not equal to the effect, but to the effect multiplied by a constant, and therefore is proportional to the effect (pp. 44 ff.), (3) many causes often combine to produce one effect (pp. 57 ff.). On several points one feels the need of further discussion—especially on the alleged personal causation; and the idealistic view of Lotze and Bosanquet should be explicitly discussed in the criticism of Verworn's thesis. Such imperfections, are, to be sure, almost unavoidable in so short a treatise. In spite of brevity, the clearness and relevancy of the author's thought, the concreteness of his method, are striking, and lead us to desire a more extended monograph from him on this subject.

This volume is part of a general work on experimental psychology and education the purpose and occasion of which are best described in the words of the author (introductory note): "Invité par M. le Ministre des Sciences et des Arts, et M. le Directeur Général de l'Enseignement primaire, à initier le personnel des Écoles normales et MM. les Inspecteurs de l'Enseignement primaire aux données de la Psychologie et de la Pedagogie expérimentales, je me suis