New-York tribune., 1921-06-26

truth. he cites the results of psyche
| logical tests taken both in this coun
| try and in England to show that there
| are very wide differences of individua
intelligence, corresponding general,
with differences of occupation and SO
ciai class. These differences, in hi.
opinion, are hereditary, and education
can do little to remove them. Basins
his conclusion upon the results of tn,
army psychological test, he asserts
that about rs per cent of the American
population lacks sufficient capacity fol
! intellectual development to enable II
to complete an ordinary high schoo
course.
NOW the ominous element in antici
pating Americas future, as the author
believes, is the fact that the mental,
and morally unfit are inclined to propa
! gate much more rapidly than the fit
The tendency to limit the birthrate b,
artificial means is much more pro
nounced among the intelligent ane
the prosperous than among the ig-
rorant and shiftless. This development
tits in with Professor McDougall's
theory that "the great condition Of the
decline of any civilization is the in.
adequacy of the qualities Of the people
who are the bearers of it,"
! AS civilization advances and be.
comes more complex it makes greater
and greater demands upon those who
are charged with the duty of uphold
ing it. And if the human material OF
country deteriorates as its civiliza.
tion advances, these demands consti
tute too heavy strain and the ciyiliza
ton is doomed to decline and perish
This, in the authors opinion, is the
true explanation of the fall of Greece
and Rome and Spain.
As constructive antidotes to the nat
ural tendency for the unfit to supplant
the fit In America Professor McDougal
recommends strict seective immigra
tion tests, absolute prevention Of mat
irg between obvious mental detectives
and, above all, the announcement OF
higher birthright among the well-to.
dc and intelligent classes.
Whether or not one fully accepts the
authors anthropological Interpretation
of history, it unquestionably opens VI
new and fascinating vistas of specula
tion. And Professor McDougall de-
serves high credit for presenting al
exposition of q difficult scientific sub
ject that is always we'll within the
range Of comprehension of the average
man.
Professor McDougalI rejects as in
consistent with the findings of modern
science the so-cal1ed association theory
of psychology, which holds that the
| human mind at birth is tabula rasa
that sensation or feeling is the ele-
mentary datum of experience, and that
association furnishes an adequate ex-
pianation of the rise and succession of
ideas in consciousness.
| The development of this theory is
sympathetically described by Profes.
sor Warren, in work of notable depth
and scholarship. Beginning with
Plato and Aristotle, he carries the
theory down to the English philoso-
piers and psychologists who have been
its strongest champions, such as Hume,
Locke and Mill. He also discusses the
thought of some of the less known ad-
vocates of associationism on the Con-
tinent.
Professor Warren expresses the be-
lief that associationism provides a
consistent theory of mental life and
that it is "quite capable of defense as
against any intuitional or nativistic
system" At the close of the book,
however, he confesses certain meas
ure of scepticism on one or two points.
He feels that the psychologists Of this
school have not been sufficiently care
ful In distinguishing between separate
processes, which are grouped together
under the term associationism. And
ne doubts whether the phenomena OF
attention and discrimination are ade-
quately explained by the associa-
tionists.