History of Psychology from the Standpoint of a Thomist by Robert E. Brennan (review)

REVIEWS 287 11 defense would be a sin against good Catholic English tradition as well as against the science of Biblical translation and interpretation. We want accuracy and fidelity above all else, laymen as well as theologians. That was the thesis of the Douai-Rheims translators and, if I mistake not, it is still the desire of English-speaking Catholics. We want to read in our English versions exactly what the hagiographer wrote and not what a translator thinks he may have meant. If we want a particular private interpretation of his meaning, we can always have recourse to a commentary. Msgr. Knox's version has been praised for its clarity, and there is no doubt that his style is lucid-one never has any difficulty in understanding what Msgr. Knox means. One reads with pleasure and is tempted to forget that faithful rendition of the divine word ought to take precedence over all else. I think that Msgr. Knox could write a splendid commentary on the New Testament, and I sincerely wish that he would. I think also that if he had respected more the " ordinary methods," he would have produced a distinguished and valuable translation-there are evidences enough of that in this work-but I am not at all satisfied with this latest English version of the New Testament. Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D. C. WILLIAM A. McLouGHLIN, O.P. History of Psychology, from the Standpoint of a Thomist. By RoBERT E. BRENNAN. New York: Macmillan, 1945. Pp.xviii +277. $3.00. It is an extremely difficult task to describe, even in its most general outlines , the history of psychology from its beginnings to the present time. Dr. Brennan has solved this difficulty amazingly well. Of course, one may wish that this or that name would appear, or that some chapters were shorter so as to leave more space for others. But such ideas are probably the result of one's personal predilections and may not be objectively justified. However, some names that ought to appear are missing: one is the name of the great French neurologist, Marie, whose work inaugurated the restatement of our whole theory of aphasia and, therefore, of cerebral "localization "; another is that of Dilthey, who is more rightly to be considered as the first to introduce the concept of an " understanding " as set over against an" explaining" psychology. Spranger, who is credited with this, is, in fact, wholly dependent upon Dilthey. There are two other figures in the history of psychology, more important and influential, whose names are not mentioned. More than any other writer, Nietzsche is the inspiration for many current notions on human ~88 REVIEWS nature; and his counterpart, Kierkegaard, has already gained a marked influence on certain philosophies and psychologies. No doubt the latter's importance will be recognized more adequately since his works have been translated into English. This reviewer would also take issue with the author's presentation of the psychology of Wolff; this thinker was much more sensible than he appears in the usual disparaging statements about his system. Moreover, the philosophies of Kant and Hegel are not quite accurately characterized. It ought not to be forgotten that the " thinking subject," either in Kant or in Hegel, is not the individual mind: hence, it is not correct to say that " Hegel ... rejected all reality beyond the thinking subject"; Hegel's reality is primarily the " absolute idea '' of which " the subjective spirit " is only a passing manifestation. Furthermore, the author characterizes Ki.ilpe's antecedents in the statement : " he worked in the spirit of Brentano though he was influenced undoubtedly by Wundt "; rather, he began as Wundt's pupil and follower and later came under the influence, not so much of Brentano, as of Husser! (whose name also deserved mention). The author sees, running through the history of psychology, and active today, three main trends: one, materialistic, originating with Democritus; two, idealistic, stemming from Plato; three, the combination of the two into a true " anthropological " approach, the source of which is Aristotle. It is in the light of this conception that he views the various schools and ideas. In fact, the history of psychology cannot be...