Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis II 1921 1.djvu/134

 126 BOOK RKVIF.WS

Bradby's exposition of the illogicalities of human behaviour and her in- sistence upon the operation of unconscious or semi-conscious motives as important determinants of this behaviour should provide a valuable lesson to all who have to deal with social phenomena.

The book is divided into a short introductory section devoted to an exposition of formal logic- and three "Parts", the first dealing with "the unconscious background of conscious reasoning", the second with "unconscious motives the source of fallacy", the third with "lojjic applied to life". In the first of these three parts are chapters on instinct, in- tuition, dreams, language etc.; in the second there is attempted an i analysis and classification of f;illacies, while the third deals with education, ; "the logic of compromise" (concerned with the inU-raction of grouj^s ot ! opposed motives), social problems, religion, s]>iritualism, etc. To the f present writer it would seem that the middle portion of the book is tlie I most helpful, interesting and original, as it suggests many valuable lines of thought which — especially when deepened by j)sycho-analylic insight — should be of service to the sociologist and social psychologist.

We may perhaps bo permitted to repn>duce here, with a few illustrations.

and comments, Miss Bradby's admittedly provisional classification ot j

fallacies.

1. The Fallacy of Authority— "A tendency to accept 'authority' instead

of forming independent judgments", as illustrated, for instance, in the s

savage's proncness to rely on tribal custom or upon the word of medicine- man, priest or king or by the tendency among civilised men to base arguments upon the authority of religious creeds or the dogmas ol scientific textbooks; this fallacy (like all the subsecjuent ones) appearing in its most insidious form when the real basis of tin* argument is un- recognised, e. g. when a man thinks he is arguing from ])urcly scientific | premises but is all the time being unconsciously influenced by a religious ' bias. It is obvious that a more penetrating analysis of liie psycho- logical mechanism of this form of fallacy would deal with the nature of our attitude towards authority itself and with its foundations in our early attitude towards parents and parent-substitutes.

2. The Fallacy of Self-Centredness "a tendency to primitive egotism or imaginative self-centrcdness" ; as illustrated by Lord Salisbury's argu- ment that an increased number of j)ub!ic houses does not imi»ly increased drunkenness (any more than a great number of chairs would lead his housemaids to sit down the oftener). The fallacy here arises from Lord Salisbury regarding drunkards as being "people like himself who have no craving for alcohol that cannot be kept in check". The same fallacy is responsible, according to our author, for mistakes which arise from reading our own nature into animals (anthropomorphism) or into persons of different race or class. In its more subtle forms it is undoubtedly a form of fallacy of which it behoves psychologists more especially to be