Royce and Hocking: American Idealists (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 343 Chapter X summarizes very ably the importance of Chauncey Wright in combining Darwinism with utilitarianism, and developing them into a philosophy of moral reform. Chapters XI and XII are especially useful, because they give a revised and critical account of Charles Eliot Norton's philosophy and character. They bring Norton very close intellectually as well as personally to Chauncey Wright and make him a more impressive thinker than previous portraits have done. Thus the range and substance of this volume is noteworthy. It is thoroughly documented and clearly written. I hope it will soon appear as a paperback, for it should be made available to students in their present mood; they would do well to consult it for both comfort and enlightenment. The story it tells, however, is not merely timely; it makes a contribution of permanent value to a decent history of American thought and action. HERBERT W. SCHNEIDER Claremont, California Royce and Hocking: American Idealists. By Daniel S. Robinson. (Boston: Christopher Publishing House, 1968. Pp. 175. $5) Daniel S. Robinson has collected in a single volume ten of his essays devoted to his former teachers, Josiah Royce and William Ernest Hocking. All but one have been published previously. Most are occasional pieces--already familiar to students of American philosophy--and their philosophical content is slight. Primarily, they insist upon the importance of Royce and Hocking in philosophy. In the case of Royce, there is no longer an issue since his place as a serious philosopher is secure. Hocking's, of course, is less assured. However, his value will have to be shown by much more study than is represented here. Of greater value is the documentary part of the work. Newly published are two letters by Royce. In one he accepts membership in the Aristotelian Society, in the other he comments upon the philosophical studies of a student to the student's mother. Reminiscences of Royce are given in four letters by Royce's son, Stephen Royce, three of which are addressed to the author. We also find reprinted Royce's letters to William T. Harris which Robinson published some years ago. Hocking is represented by ten letters in all, addressed to the author, plus several pages of comments. Little scholarly work on Royce's life has thus far appeared. Most accounts merely repeat anecdotes of doubtful authenticity. Many contemporary documents have survived , but their systematic study has not yet been completed. Stephen Royce's reminiscences have to be evaluated against this background. His account of Royce's life here is pretty much the same as the one he gave to J. Harry Cotton--reported in Cotton's Royce on the Human Self--and there is no doubt that Stephen was often mistaken. Stephen is the source of some Royce legends, and it is interesting to see them at their source. Thus these four letters do not constitute a biographical source; rather they pose questions yet to be answered. The Hocking letters, according to Robinson, are a sample of the many he has received in the course of his long association with Hocking. They reveal the day-to-day concerns of a scholarly life. A number of the letters deal with the publication of the English translation of Marcel's book on Royce for which Hocking supplied a preface. In others Hocking comments on several lectures and essays, mostly on Royce. This material, thus, will be helpful in any attempt to establish in detail the connections 344 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY between these two thinkers. Of greater interest to students of Hocking's thought is the letter and comments upon Robinson's review of Hocking's Experiment in Education. IGNAS K. SKRUPSKELIS University of South Carolina Berdyaev's Philosophy: The Existential Paradox o[ Freedom and Necessity, A Critical Study. By Fuad Nucho. Introduction by Richard Kroner. (New York: Doubleday Anchor, 1966. $.95 p.b.) To the many who have read enough of Berdyaev to take him seriously but who have not ploughed through all his voluminous writings nor been able to digest to their own satisfaction what they have read, Fuad Nucho's study should be a welcome offering. It is hardly an introduction; rather, it...