Abstract
THE persons responsible for the publication of the posthumous work of Dr. Brinton, described above, would have done better if they had taken a more comprehensive view of their editorial duties. As we are told in the preface, no attempt has been made at verifying references; so that we have highly debatable statements constantly made on such vague general authorisation as “Plato,” “Wundt,” “Quetelet,” “an American scientist,” and so forth. Curious inaccuracies in matters of fact have likewise been allowed to stand in various places, e.g. at p. 44, where we read that Crete was the source of “Greek law” (whatever that vague expression may mean), and a well-known citation from the famous Hymn of Cleanthes, occurring in the “Acts of the Apostles,” is said to be from “a Cretan poet,” and at p. 13, where it is asserted of Jevons's “logical machine “that it “worked as well as the human brain,” the truth being, as all logicians know, that that ingenious invention requires all but the purely mechanical part of the inferential process to be performed for it by the operator.
The Basis of Social Relations.
By D. G. Brinton. Pp. xvi + 204. (London: John Murray, 1902.) Price 8s. net.
The Criterion of Scientific Truth.
By G. Shann. Pp. 51. (London: Cassell and Co., Ltd., 1902.) Price 1s. 6d.
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
T., A. The Basis of Social Relations The Criterion of Scientific Truth . Nature 66, 221 (1902). https://doi.org/10.1038/066221b0
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/066221b0
