La science et l'esprit positif chez les Penseurs contemporains by Boll, MarcelReview by: L. GuinetIsis, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1923), pp. 200-201Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/223633 .

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XIX. cent.: SAUSSURE, BLUMENBACH. CUVIER (2), DALTON, GAY-

LUSSAC (2), DAVY, F. WOHLER, LYELL. OERSTED, FARADAY (3), W. H. F.

TALBOT, J. MULLER, SCHWANN, SCHLEIDEN, LIEBIG, UNGER, H. DE BARY.

DARWIN (2), V. BAER, BESSEL (2), ENCKE, MAYER, HELMIHOLTZ, SCHON-

BEIN, SCHROTTER, WERNER SIEMENS, KIRCHHOFF (2), BUNSEN (2), PASTEUR, FERDINAND COHN, HERTZ, ELSTER.

These three centuries are thus represented respectively by 12, 17 and

32 men.

(2) Let us now consider the race or nationality of the 70 scientists, extracts fromn whose works are included in DANNEMANN'S collection.

Thirty of them, that is almost half, are Germans or Austrians (31 if we count COPERNICUS as a German); 13 are English; 7, French; 4, Scandinavians. Greece, Italy and Switzerland gave each 3; Holland,

2; and only one came from each of the following countries: Alexandria,

Rome, Persia, Poland, America. The reader will draw his own

conclusions.

(3) To what extent are the different branches of science represented

among these 80 extracts ? I found the following numbers: Physics, 27; chemistry, 14; botany, 11 ; astronomy, 10; zoology, 6; geology and minerology, 5; biology and natural history, 3. One extract

represents each of the following disciplines; anthropology, physiol. ogy, mathematics (ARCHIMEDES' sand-reckoner) and scientific philos- ophy (BACON). Or more briefly: mathematics, 1; physical sciences.

51; natural sciences, 27; philosophy, 1. Again, the reader will decide himself whether this selection is a fair representation of the total growth of science.

DANNEMANN'S book will certainly be very useful, but I have said

enough to show that it is very far from satisfactory. G. S.

Boll, Marcel. - La science et 1'esprit positif chez les Penseurs con-

temporains, 262 p., Paris, FELIx ALCAN, 1921. [8 fr.i

L'auteur a group6 sous ce titre plusieurs 6tudes anterieurement parues, mais qui. reinaniees pour entrer dans le present recueil, pre- sentent un tableau actuel des idees generales qui dirigent la majorite des savants et des philosophes positivistes, ce mot etant pris dans son sens large, lequel implique, ainsi que le proclamait deja AUG. COM3TE,

que ( a tous 6gards, la methode a plus de prix que la doctrine ,. Le livre est partag6 en trois parties: la philosophic positive; la

science; affectivisme ou positivisme. Chacune d'elles est pour BOLL l'occasion de dresser une etude critique d'un certain nombre d'ouvrages recents dont les auteurs, a part BERGSON et PARODI, s'avouent tous plus

XIX. cent.: SAUSSURE, BLUMENBACH. CUVIER (2), DALTON, GAY-

LUSSAC (2), DAVY, F. WOHLER, LYELL. OERSTED, FARADAY (3), W. H. F.

TALBOT, J. MULLER, SCHWANN, SCHLEIDEN, LIEBIG, UNGER, H. DE BARY.

DARWIN (2), V. BAER, BESSEL (2), ENCKE, MAYER, HELMIHOLTZ, SCHON-

BEIN, SCHROTTER, WERNER SIEMENS, KIRCHHOFF (2), BUNSEN (2), PASTEUR, FERDINAND COHN, HERTZ, ELSTER.

These three centuries are thus represented respectively by 12, 17 and

32 men.

(2) Let us now consider the race or nationality of the 70 scientists, extracts fromn whose works are included in DANNEMANN'S collection.

Thirty of them, that is almost half, are Germans or Austrians (31 if we count COPERNICUS as a German); 13 are English; 7, French; 4, Scandinavians. Greece, Italy and Switzerland gave each 3; Holland,

2; and only one came from each of the following countries: Alexandria,

Rome, Persia, Poland, America. The reader will draw his own

conclusions.

(3) To what extent are the different branches of science represented

among these 80 extracts ? I found the following numbers: Physics, 27; chemistry, 14; botany, 11 ; astronomy, 10; zoology, 6; geology and minerology, 5; biology and natural history, 3. One extract

represents each of the following disciplines; anthropology, physiol. ogy, mathematics (ARCHIMEDES' sand-reckoner) and scientific philos- ophy (BACON). Or more briefly: mathematics, 1; physical sciences.

51; natural sciences, 27; philosophy, 1. Again, the reader will decide himself whether this selection is a fair representation of the total growth of science.

DANNEMANN'S book will certainly be very useful, but I have said

enough to show that it is very far from satisfactory. G. S.

Boll, Marcel. - La science et 1'esprit positif chez les Penseurs con-

temporains, 262 p., Paris, FELIx ALCAN, 1921. [8 fr.i

L'auteur a group6 sous ce titre plusieurs 6tudes anterieurement parues, mais qui. reinaniees pour entrer dans le present recueil, pre- sentent un tableau actuel des idees generales qui dirigent la majorite des savants et des philosophes positivistes, ce mot etant pris dans son sens large, lequel implique, ainsi que le proclamait deja AUG. COM3TE,

que ( a tous 6gards, la methode a plus de prix que la doctrine ,. Le livre est partag6 en trois parties: la philosophic positive; la

science; affectivisme ou positivisme. Chacune d'elles est pour BOLL l'occasion de dresser une etude critique d'un certain nombre d'ouvrages recents dont les auteurs, a part BERGSON et PARODI, s'avouent tous plus

200 200 Isis. v. 1923 Isis. v. 1923

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REVIEWS 201

ou moins positivistes. I1 insiste surtout sur la Philosophie moderne, de ABEL REY, et ses Legons de psychologie et de philosophie, la Connais- sance et l'Erreur, de ERNST MACH, la Science et la Realite, de PIERRE DELBET, les Paralogismes du Rationalisnie, de Louis ROUGIER, les Theories de I'Evolution, de Y. DELAGE et M. GOLDSMITH, La Matiere

et la Vie, de GUILLEMINOT, Belphegor, de JULIEN BENDA, La Vague

mystique, de JULES SAGERET, Force et Cause, de FR. HOUSSAY, etc. Et

cette revue lui donne a tout moment l'occasion de montrer que la grande tradition frangaise est dans le cartesianisme, 1'Encyclopedie et le

positivisme debarasse des constructions subjectives auxquelles s'est

coImplu COMTE dans la derniere phase de sa vie. (Cf. Isis, III, 296, 448; IV, 115).

(Bruxelles.) L. GUINET.

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