The Psychology of Childhood: Normal and Abnormal
- Type:
Book Reviews & Abstracts.
- Author:
Mary Scharlieb, D.B.E.
M.D., M.S.Lond., J.P. Constable & Co., Ltd. : 1927. 190 pages. Price Gs. net.
This book, which gives a practicable, plain and sensible introduction to the study of the child, will be both interesting and most useful for parents, nurses and young- teachers, who are daily coming across the difficulties and problems which exist even in the training of the most normal child. While the indications of the fre- quently unrecognised beginnings of abnormality will be a real boon to those who fear the development of these.
The chapter on the Moral Imbecile is well planned and sustained, and is specially com- mended to the notice of magistrates and of those who are required to pass judgment on so-called delinquents. The new term, Psuedo- moral Imbeciles undoubtedly covers a class much more common than is generally sup- posed ; the writer does not appear to attribute this at all to hyper-sensitivity, which is usually cloaked by cruelty, truculence, or the desire to be infamous if it cannot be famous.
The ” Mongolian Child ” seems somewhat of an interloper, for a chapter is devoted to this individual type in a rather general treatise. But, no one should miss reading the author’s delightfully sane and refreshing outlook on the questions of suggestion, discipline and punish- ment. She says : ” The action of conscience and influence of suggestion are probably the two most potent elements in the direction of our conduct and in the formation of character.” Dr Scharlieb brings to the task that calm common sense and mellow experience which we are accustomed to expect from this pioneer woman, together with the charm of humour which relieves even the most prosaic page. The book is thoroughly clear and well- planned throughout, and is illuminated by stories which, besides being apt and well- chosen, have the ring- of truth about them, while there is hardly a page, particularly in the second half of the book, where one would not have been glad to have had considerable amplification of the writer’s views.
M. F. B. Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Ministry of Health for the Year 1926. H.M. Stationery Office : 1927. 3s.
Out of the very interesting- contents of the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer ” On the State of Public Health ” the section on Maternity and Child Welfare will probably be of most interest to our readers. This section includes a note on the Pre-school Child, and on the subject of the Mental Health of the Child the Chief Medical Officer says : ” In my last report I called attention to the danger of neglecting the mental development of the child as a result of focussing interest and attention upon the physical welfare. Interest in mental health is still mainly the concern of the rela- tively few psychologists who have given special study to this somewhat difficult subject, but there are welcome signs that interest is spread- ing and that many of those concerned with the upbringing of children are beginning to realise that wisdom in mental and moral training is just as necessary as foresight and watchfulness in the hygiene of the physical side of life.” Reference is made to the Poor Law Authori- ties who have given assistance, from time to time, by affording special units to which patients from other areas can be admitted. An arrangement is under discussion in the Mid- lands by which one of the Poor Law Authorities ” will set aside beds for the treatment of the after effects of Encephalitis Lethargica.” Metropolitan Asylums Board Report, 1926- 27. General Section, 5s. Mental Dis- eases Section (only), 2s. Offices of the Board, Victoria Embankment, E.C.
It is interesting to read in the Metropolitan Asylums Board Report for this year of the many institutions that have been training an increasing number of defectives in domestic or industrial occupations, and have added equip- ment or provided further facilities towards this end. At Leavesden Mental Hospital, five new workshops have been established for male patients. At Caterham, the number at occu- pation training centres shows an increase and the children’s centre has now 160 in attendance, the maximum number that it can accommodate.
At Darenth there has been a substantial in- crease in the out-put of many sections of the industrial department. The importance of developing- this side of the mental hospitals is borne out by Dr E. L. Sherlock. In sum- marising- his contribution ” On Prognosis in Mental Deficiency,” he writes : ” It is sound public policy, as being the cheapest in the end, to help the mentally-defective person to pro- duce all he is capable of producing economic- ally… . It is clear that when consider- ing the mentally-defective some other standard than ‘ recovery ‘ must be taken in forming an opinion as to prognosis… . Prognosis will thus depend on the adaptation of the en- vironment to the individual rather than on the converse proceeding.”
Miss Rose Munday (Head Mistress of Darenth Training Colony) has contributed a detailed account of the Decroly method of teaching.
Dr Borthwick (Medical Superintendent of the Northern Hospital) has given a very in- teresting account of the post-encephalitis lethargica cases under his charge at the Northern Hospital. His account is illustrated and readers are shown some of the different results occurring in various cases. As Dr. Borthwick says : ” Encephalitis lethargica brings in its train, therefore, a wealth of clini- cal material that is almost overwhelming and of which the problems of classification alone are considerable.” We hope that some detailed account of the training that has been found most suitable will be given in next year’s Re- port. While the medical aspects of the disease are of extraordinary interest, it will be par- ticularly helpful to institutions which receive a few isolated cases, to have some information on methods of training.
Following upon Dr Stewart’s investigations, published last year in the Metropolitan Asylums Board Report regarding the incidence of con- genital syphilis in mental deficiency, Dr Leslie Gordon, of the Caterham Mental Hospital, publishes a further paper. He writes : “Of the 575 cases tested at Caterham, 485 gave a negative result and 90 a positive, giving a per- centage of 15.65 positive. It is interesting to note that the percentage is no higher than the one obtained by Dr Stewart in older patients, and does not seem to bear out the statement that age or the reaching of puberty is of such importance in modifying the Wassermann reaction.” The patients at Caterham are between the ages of 6 and 16.
Board of Control, England and Wales. Thirteenth Annual Report. H.M. Stationery Office: 1927. Part I., 2s.; Part II., 9s.
A welcome innovation in the format of their Thirteenth Annual Report, just published, has been made by the Board of Control. In recent years the Report has been issued in a rather bulky blue book at the somewhat prohibitive charge of 12s. 6d., and the Mental Deficiency Section has only been available for a limited public. Members of the Central Association and Local Associations, the Staffs of Certified Institutions, Justices of the Peace, and many others, have long wished for a convenient and inexpensive issue of this Section. The Board have given them what they wanted and have further included in that Section nearly all the information essential to the general public re- garding mental hospitals and the care of the insane. We urge our readers to obtain it without delay.
The Report is of particular interest in its account of improved ascertainment and of further developments in the training of defec- tives and in its expression of opinion re sterilization and the marriage of defectives. To take matters of interest in the Report in the order in which they are set down, we would like first to refer to the Board’s reiteration of the need for action following upon the Report of the Royal Commission on Lunacy and Mental Disorder. They recapitulate some of the evidence which they gave before the Commis- sion, suggesting, that in regard to the pro- cedure for the reception of persons suffering from mental disorder, patients should be classi- fied as voluntary, non-volitional and unwilling. They refer to the Mental Treatment Bill, and state with truth, ” That Bill was based on the widespread demand that had been made by the Board of Control, the Royal Medico-Psycho- logical Association and others, for some years, that much extended facilities were needed for treating early cases of insanity without certifi- cation ” (p. 2). We cannot but agree also with their view regarding the Poor Law.
They say, ” We are in entire agreement with the Commission in advising that the treatment of insanity in all its stages should be divorced from the Poor Law.” …” The present arrangements under which so many patients are first dealt with in the Poor-Law institutions? sometimes for long- periods?before reaching the mental hospital are open to grave objection. Moreover, it seems to us indefensible to pauperise individuals merely because they be- come mentally ill and are treated at the public expense ” (p. 5). Apropos of this, however, it is necessary to point out that there is some reason to think that the serious risk of legal proceedings to which medical men are exposed in signing certificates under the Lunacy Acts is causing many of them to decline to perform this duty, with the result that there is an increasing tendency for certi- fiable patients to be sent ” for observation ” to Poor Law Institutions rather than direct- to the Mental Hospital.
The Board make further reference to the scheme for the Regional Grouping of mental hospitals which they put forward in their last Report. It can scarcely be questioned that if the Statutory Committees were able to adopt some plan of providing facilities whereby ” the medical work of mental hospitals could find a link with the Medical Schools of Universities ” great stimulus would be given to medical research in those hospitals (footnote p. 12).
That Section of Part I of the Report, which deals with Mental Deficiency, begins with the usual plaint that ” the lack of accommodation for defectives becomes every year more urgent.” It is discouraging to read (p. 36) that “No additions have been made to the number of Institutions provided by Local Authorities,” though certain Authorities have increased their existing accommodation. The total number of beds provided by Local Authorities is now 5,301 as against 5,075 at the time of last year’s report. The Board again reiterate that ” It is difficult to convince mem- bers of councils that the expense of maintain- ing the feeble-minded who cannot maintain themselves must eventually be borne by the community, and that it is a choice between maintenance under improper conditions in Poor Law institutions, prisons, by out-door relief or unemployment benefit, or maintenance in insti- tutions where they are under continuous train- ing and care ” (p. 36). Certain schemes are, however, in course of development and there may, during the next few years, be some relief in certain localities. The Board further em- phasise the need for a Colony system where proper grading and individual care can be ensured. Later on in the Report (p. 76) the Board discuss at some length the use of Poor Law Institutions under Section 37 of the Act.
While giving- due appreciation to the public- spirited way in which the Boards of Guardians have come to the assistance of the Local Authorities in the present acute shortage of accommodation, the Board rightly point out that many of the Poor-Law Institutions ” can- not be said to come within the meaning of section 37, for they show no ‘ special fitness for the detention, care and training ‘ of the Mentally Defective. We think it is time that the community realised that Local Authori- ties ought not to be content with this provision and that to have secured places in Poor-Law Institutions for some of the defectives for whom they are responsible, does not mean that they have fulfilled their statutory obligations under Section 30 (c) ‘ to provide suitable and sufficient accommodation.’ The importance of this consideration will be evident when it is remembered that so far only 5,301 beds have been provided by Local Authorities, whereas they have sent nearly 3,390 cases to Poor Law Institutions.”
In order to satisfy themselves as to the actual conditions in Poor-Law Institutions certified under Section 37 the Board have carefully re- viewed the position. They have considered J 08 reports of Commissioners and Inspectors of such Institutions and they arrive at the fol- lowing conclusions, comparing the standard of such Institutions with that prevailing in large certified Institutions :?
” The Training given in 23 Poor Law Institutions is satisfactory. ? ? ? .. 16 ? ? ? ? fair. ? ? ? 69 ? ? ? ? unsatisfactory. The Recreation,, ? 33 ? ? ? ? satisfactory. ., 48 ? ? ? .. fair. ? 24 ? ? ? ? unsatisfactory. ? 3 (We have no information). The Classification in 9 Poor Law Institutions is satisfactory. ? ? ? 17 ? ? ,. fair. ? ? 82 ? ? ., ? unsatisfactory.”
We hope that the Section of the Report which deals with Marriage of Defectives and Sterilization will be read by all members of Boards of Guardians and County Councils, many of whom have recently been considering these questions. On the question of the Marriage of Defectives the Board say : “It has been suggested that it should be made a punishable offence to marry or connive at the marriage of any person known to be certified as a mental defective under the Mental De- ficiency Act, but if the law were so altered it is very doubtful if public opinion is sufficiently informed to enforce it. We have instances where a Local Authority and Visitor have suggested the discharge of feeble-minded women in order that they might be married ; and, if a girl has become pregnant, public opinion would generally approve of her marriage and disapprove of her recall to an institution.”
” One Local Authority tells us that they have knowledge of six defectives where peti- tions have been dismissed by the Judicial Authority in order to allow the defectives to get married, and also of two others where the petitions were dismissed in order to allow two pregnant girls to get married. These instances seem to show that public opinion has not yet realised that the upbringing of children by defectives should be prevented as far as possible.”
” The publication of the facts discovered by Local Authorities as to the extent to which the marriage of defectives takes place might go far to prepare the way for legislation, and to justify an alteration of the law.” (p. 42.) In view of these examples, which seem to us deplorable and to show a strange lack of understanding on the part of some Justices of the Peace, we wonder if the Board is right in thinking that public opinion is not ripe for a measure limited to the prevention of marriage of a duly certified mental defective. It is at least significant that, as reported in the press, the London Mental Hospitals Committee re- cently passed a resolution recommending to the County Council that legislation should be promoted by the Government to make illegal the marriage of a person who was, for the time being, subject to an order of detention under the Mental Deficiency Act.
On the question of sterilization the Board’b position is clear. They have arrived at no definite conclusions, but they express the opinion (p. 46) that undue weight is given to the economic aspect of the question ” for steri- lization would not obviate the need for super- vision and industrial training’, and the number for whom it would render institutional provision unnecessary is greatly exaggerated.” After quoting at some length the views of certain Medical Officers of Health who definitely advo- cate sterilization and go so far as to state that ” At least half the cases sent to institutions are sent there solely to prevent procreation,” they give a Report by Dr Turner, who was asked to consider the question in relation to the whole of the patients, who number over 1,000, under his care. We make no apology for reproducing in full this exceedingly interesting statement (pp. 44, 45, 46). I have been considering the answer I should give to your question as to the percentage number of defec- tives now being retained in institutions solely to prevent them having children, and who could therefore be discharged if they were sterilized.
I can only speak for this institution, and so far as we are concerned the number is almost negligible. ” To take the patients class by class.
” Idiots.?It is admitted generally, I believe, that cases of idiots having children are almost unknown, and the question of sterilization does not arise in reference to this class. Those we have are here because they need looking after and are too great a burden in their own homes.
” Imbeciles.?With the lower half of this grade the position is the same as with the idiots. They are custodial cases who need too much looking after to be in a private house.
” The female upper half of the imbecile grade are, in my opinion, just the class best suited to be boarded out with foster-mothers. They are quiet, well- behaved, and harmless, and if the foster-mother treats them just as children, which is the only way to treat them, I think sterilization is unnecessary. They should be safe without this. It is the class we are trying most to board out.
” The male upper half of the imbecile class are not so easy to board out, or return to their homes. No one, in my experience, wants them outside an institution, and there is therefore no object in steriliz- ing them.
” If, therefore, any defectives are to be sterilized, it can only be the feeble-minded, and these are the only class in which there is any possible chance of its being any saving.
” First of these one naturally thinks of those mar- ried before admission. We have two men and six women.
” Of the men, one lives chiefly by thieving when outside; the other committed an indecent assault on his step-daughter aged 12. Sterilization would not permit of their being discharged.
” Of the women, two were admitted at the instance of the N.S.P.C.C. because they could not look after the children they already had.
” The other four were all sent for gross promiscuous immorality. Sterilization would not make the first two able to look after their children any better than they did before admission, and would not prevent the immorality of the latter four. Sterilization would not permit of any one of these being discharged. ” Now take the unmarried.
” Of the higher grade ones who would perhaps be able to get a living outside with some propping up, most of the male cases are here for some offence, petty theft, indecent conduct, assault, etc. Steriliza- tion would not prevent any of this, and they must, therefore, still be detained. I think criminal assaults seldom produce children, but you could not risk the real damage, mental and moral, to the woman, and allow these men out, just because there would be no risk of children if committed by a sterilized defective at large.
” With the female higher grade patients, by the time you have eliminated the unstable psychopathic women, the promiscuously immoral, the persistent thieves, and the epileptic, there are not many left who are quiet, well-behaved, and harmless, and who would go out, but for the fact that some of them may have had an illegitimate child already, and in others you fear they may if they go out.
” The demand for beds is so insistent and the shortage so great, that nowadays a well-behaved high grade de- fective stands little chance of getting into an institution at all.
” It seems to me that it can only be the quiet, well- behaved defectives able to earn a living, and yet like most defectives liable to have an illegitimate child be- cause they can be overpersuaded to anything, for whom there can be any question as to whether or not sterili- zation would enable you to send them outside the in- stitution, and these would be chiefly females.
” If a male defective is well-behaved and so high grade that he can earn his living outside, and is presentable enough and persuasive enough to get a normal girl into trouble, there is to my mind a reason- able doubt if he should be certified at all. He, there- fore, would not be sterilizable.
” Taking all these things into consideration I per- sonally feel that the number of defectives now detained in institutions who could be discharged merely by reason of sterilization, cannot be put higher than three to five per cent., and probably the smaller figure is the more correct of the two.
” P.S.?If it be said that my opinion is probably distorted because I have considered only cases already in an institution, I think the answer is :? ” Firstly: This institution is not like most institu- tions taking urgent cases from all over England. We take cases only from the Eastern Counties, a limited specific area, and already have in the institution .63 cases per 1,000 of the population we are to cater for. We thus have a much fairer sample, but I still know of many cases in our area that ought to come in if we had the beds. I mean cases that still ought to come even if they were sterilized.
” Secondly : Even if all defectives now outside were sterilized, it would not affect the fact that our area has needed accommodation in institutions for .63 per1 1,000 of the population, and that this number would only in my opinion have been reduced by 3 per cent., if they had been sterilized, and that we still need many more beds to take really urgent cases, urgent whether sterilized or not.”
For the other points of Interest in the Re- port, such as Ascertainment, Guardianship, the work of the Central and Local Associations, we must refer our readers to the Report. We hope that they will not omit to read Dr Rees Thomas’ very careful argument, which surely supports the contention that the majority of Mental Defectives in Institutions are happier than they would be at large in the community.
Of the institutional life of the criminal defec- tives at Rampton whom he has in his charge, he says, ” But two things are missing. The freedom we all so much desire and the best of all social influences, the home life. If freedom implies being free to enter and rob other people’s houses or attack the freedom of others, then they seek privileges that are not granted to the best of citizens. With regard to home life, one must agree that ideal home conditions with tender care, help and guidance of parents, has no counterpart in institution life. Unfortunately, this ideal does not obtain in the majority of cases no matter from what class of society the defectives are drawn.” (p. 69.)
The Board make an authoritative statement regarding persons suffering from the effects of Encephalitis Lethargica : ” In our opinion mental defect within the meaning of the Act may exist in persons of considerable intelli- gence. The criterion is whether the individual is so mentally defective that he requires care, supervision and control for his own protection or the protection of others. In the present state of our knowledge, institutions for defec- tives offer the most appropriate places, so far provided, for the care and training of certain post-encephalitic cases, and, if the condition has existed at the adolescent period, they may properly be certified under the Mental Defi- ciency Act.” (p. 82.)
Board of Control, Scotland. Thirteenth Annual Report. H.M. Stationery Office: 1927. 2s.
The Thirteenth Annual Report of the General Board of Control for Scotland largely covers the same ground as the Report of last year. Emphasis is laid on the distinction between lunatics and mental defectives, and the need for differing care and treatment. The Board say : ” The mentally defective being ill-endowed with powers of resistance to the stress and strain of social conditions and physical dis- eases are specially liable to temporary attacks of mental disorders. As a rule they can be dealt with in Institutions for Defectives, but when insanity supervenes, and the patient is troublesome, it has hitherto been the practice to send such cases to Asylums. Such trans- ference in our view should, at most, be tem- porary and when the scheme of treatment of the mentally defective of all ages has become more completely evolved there should be no necessity for even the temporary transference of defectives to Asylums.”
It is of particular interest to note that in regard to post-encephalitic cases they express views differing- from those which we have quoted in the Report of the Board of Control for England and Wales. The Report states :? ” The Board have been watching the present condition of those mentally affected through Encephalitis Lethargica, whether young or old, and by arrangement with the Board of Health a large number of such cases from all parts of Scotland are accommodated in the General Hospital at Stobhill, where ideal Observation Wards exist for the care and treatment of in- cipient and temporary forms of mental dis- order.
” Where juveniles under 16 years of age exhibit mental symptoms associated with En- cephalitis Lethargica, the Board have been re- luctant to advise certification, the affection being regarded by many as of microbic origin and if this surmise, is confirmed by the re- searches which are now being actively carried on remedial measures may reasonably be hoped for.
” Some juvenile and adult patients affected with Encephalitis Lethargica have been placed in Defective Institutions and- Asylums, they having been certified as suffering from mental defect of a post-encephalitic nature. In the present state of our knowledge of the affection it is, however, doubtful if the term ‘ post- encephalitic ‘ can be properly applied to any of these cases, for it may be that they are suffering from the actual disease in a chronic and lingering form and have the prospect of regaining complete mental health.”
Possibly Scotland may find some new admin- istrative method of dealing with these cases, but in England, provided special accommoda- tion can be obtained, certification under the Mental Deficiency Act appears to afford a ready means of treatment and care, and should re- covery ensue, decertification is always possible. As was pointed out recently in the House, the claims on the existing accommodation are so many, and the interest in post-encephalitic cases so great, that it is unlikely that any case would be unnecessarily detained. Dr Kate Fraser, Deputy Commissioner, has an interesting statement, which is of general applicability, regarding the boarding-out of defectives. She says :?
” Recently the ‘ boarding-out ‘ of certified defectives has been subjected to some adverse criticism, such criticism being based on one or two outstanding failures in this method of deal- ing with the mentally defective. Owing to the lack of sufficient institutional accommodation for cases requiring care and treatment in insti- tutions it has been necessary in many instances to ‘ board-out ‘ doubtful cases rather than leave them in unsuitable home conditions. And con- sidering the number of such cases at present under guardianship, it says much for the care and supervision exercised that so few failures do occur. To be properly carried out the boarding-out of defectives should form a neces- sary part of a national system for their care, a system which includes special schools, institu- tional treatment, home care and care under guardianship, and both patients and guardians must be carefully selected.
” On the whole 1 have been satisfied with the care and supervision exercised, although in many instances more might be done to interest and occupy the patient during leisure. In this connection 1 should like to emphasise the im- portance of education and training in early life of all defectives. A defective so trained may have many interests which help to occupy his leisure and make his life under guardian- ship more like the home life of the normal members of the household, as well as making him a more efiicient and useful member of society.”
Psychopathology. By Bernard Hart, M.D., F.R.C.P. Pp. 15G. Cambridge : The University Press. 1927. 7/6.
This volume contains a reprint of the Goulstonian Lectures delivered before the Royal College of Physicians of London in 192G, together with two additional sections previously published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. These latter deal respectively with the psychology of rumour and the methods of psychotherapy. The collection of such a series of papers in one volume necessarily means a certain amount of overlapping, but the repetition in this instance only serves to drive home several lessons of fundamental importance. Moreover, no one should be misled by the apparently heterogeneous character of the subjects dealt with, for in spite of their diversity they are more closely integrated than appears at hrst sight.
The (Joulstonian Lectures, three in num- ber (with a very necessary appendix on the different conceptions of the unconscious), have as their theme the development of psychopathology and its place in modern medicine. For once, the whole subject has been placed in its proper perspective, first by a rapid but none the less accurate his- torical review of its origins, and second by insisting that it is by the ordinary criteria of scientific method and not by prejudice or personal predilection that the claims of psychopathology to a place in the hierarchy of the sciences must be judged. The his- torical section shows very clearly how far psychopathology is indebted to its various predecessors. The debt, as Dr Hart clearly proves, is much less than is commonly supposed. Its distinguishing feature is that it is a therapeutic measure, psychological in character, and deliberately employed to alleviate distress, whereas its forerunners were for the most part merely ” psycho- logical procedures ” empirically devised and used without any real notion of their rationale. So long as this is kept in view, none need cavil at the contention that psycho- pathology is a science of very recent growth. Magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion, ” per- suasionism “?these have all contributed something to its origin, but the real founda- tion was not laid till the middle of the nine- teenth century. This section of Dr Hart’s work contains a fine appreciation, all the more attractive as it is so essentially just, of the achievements, judged by scientific standards, of the various schools, and especially those of Paris and Nancy.
At once the most interesting and important feature of the book is the attempt to apply to the Freudian system the criteria of ordinary scientific method. These methods, or rather stages, are three in number : (1) the observation of those phenomena which come within the scope of the subject, of whatever order the phenomena may be; (2) the classification of these observed facts; and (3) the formulation of general laws which cover all the known facts and enable us to predict the issue when these are predicated. Dr Hart’s analysis of Freud’s work in rela- tion to these three requirements is eminently fair, and his severely judicial attitude lends additional weight to his words. The phenomena which underlie Freud’s inductions are not really ” facts of observation ” as that term is usually understood, but ” facts ” which emerge as the result of using a par- ticular technique. This technique, although it pretends to be strictly impersonal, is always coloured by an affective relationship of one sort or another between the analyst and the patient. Criticism along these lines is specially applicable to the later develop- ments of psychoanalytical theory, though many of the earlier conceptions are firmly established on the basis of direct observation. As it happens, it is these elementary con- ceptions and not the more metaphysical aftergrowths that have re-oriented modern psychology, and they have achieved this just because they are founded on observation and inference is subjected to the severest restraints.
It is a peculiarity, however, of the subject matter of psychology that it does not lend itself to observation in the same sense as the physical sciences. After all, introspection is the only direct route to the discovery of psychic processes; all else is inference. In the case of the physical sciences, ” objective verification ” is used at every milestone to rule out possible deviations, but psychology from its very nature cannot be corrected in this way. It is here that the critical problem arises?how to eliminate the distortion which creeps in from a dozen sources between observed facts and a legitimate inference therefrom. So far as Freud’s work is con- cerned, Dr Hart concludes that the method of psychoanalysis is liable to many possible errors and the inductions based on its use, therefore, do not always rest on a firm foundation. Moreover, ” in the elaborate later theories the actual facts of observation become more and more remote, and the degree of inference swells by progressive accretions until a satisfactory objective verification is no longer possible.” Freud’s work does not conform to the standards of scientific progress, but it must always be kept in view that the limits of the sciences are quite arbitrary and that at best any science presents but a single facet of the whole truth. As a corollary, one might say that criticism along- such lines as Dr. Hart follows is beside the point. But in the present state of our knowledge caution is very necessary, and to lose sight altogether of scientific method would certainly result not in progress, but chaos. In the history of psychology there has been more than enough unbridled speculation, and up to this point we have by no means exhausted the uses of the ordinary weapons of research.
Dr Hart approaches his task from an interesting point of view and the result is a volume well worth reading and pondering. It is free from unnecessary technicalities, and those who have grown weary of the reckless extravagances of later psycho- analytical theory will find it a relief to get back to this delightful exposition of its fundamental claims.
McAlister.
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