Brief Notices

BRIEF NOTICES Cosmology. By D. NYs. Translation and Adaptation by S. A. Raemers. Milwaukee: Bruce, 194~. Vol. I. Pp. Q99, with index. $3.00; Vol. II. Pp. 449, with index. $4.~5. Set $7.00. To anyone acquainted with the revival of Scholastic thought in the recent past the work of Canon Nys needs no introduction. The translation of his great work on Cosmology at this time witnesses to the increasing interest that Scholastic philosophy is arousing in America today. One of the outstanding features of these two volumes is the restraint used by the author in his treatment of the subject. The two large volumes are centered around the basic problems of Natural Philosophy; extraneous questions are carefully eschewed. Volume I is devoted entirely to a thorough exposition and appraisal of modern physical theories-mechanism, dynamism, and energism . About half of Volume II is devoted to the traditional explanation of the natural world-hylomorphism. Adequate attention has been paid to the difficulties proposed by modern scientists. The last half of this volume is devoted to Time and Space. Canon Nys' work is by no means the last answer to the whole problem of the relation between science and philosophy. Much work has yet to be done. It is, however, an excellent introduction to the whole cosmological problem. The Philosophy of Christian Education (Proceedings of the Western Division of the American Catholic Philosophical Association) . San Francisco, California, 1941. $0.75. Philosophy and Order (Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, Seventeenth Annual Meeting). Washington, D. C., 1941. $MO. The following is a list of the papers included in the first of these volumes: "The Subject of Education: Man in the Making," P. K. Meagher, 0. P.; "The Form of Education: The Liberal Arts," by J. L. Hagerty;" The Ends and Aims of Christian Education," by L. A. Fenn, S. S.; " The Art of Teaching: Its Philosophical Basis," by H. S. Carroll; " The Making of the Mind: The Degrees of Knowledge," by M. Gardner; " The Development of the Will: Is Virtue Teachable?" by F. L. Sheerin, S. J.; "The Aim and Obligation of the School," by Bro. S. Edmund, F. S.C.; "The Idea of a University: Its Function in Education," by K. F. Reinhardt; "The Order of Learning," by M. J. Adler. It is clear at a glance that the program of the Western Divisions' meeting was well integrated. Moreover there is just a touch of imagination in the titles of the various papers. Best of all, there 543 544 BRIEF NOTICES seems to have been a real effort to make the papers themselves as readable as possible. The result is an interesting book on a very important subject, and not just a series of learned papers. The papers read at the annual meeting of the American Catholic Philosophical Association are also well integrated. " Order as a Philosophical Problem," by L. R. Ward;" Philosophy and Order in Logic," by J. L. Wellmuth ; " Philosophy and Order in Psychology," by E. Salmon; "Philosophy and Order in the Social Sciences," by F. J. Haas;" Philosophy and Order in Politics," by W. Parsons;" Metaphysics and International Order," by C. De Koninck. Also " Man, The Image of God," by Fulton Sheen and " Man's Image of Man," by Walter Lippmann. A full report of the Round Table Discussions is also included. Robert Grosseteste On Light. Translation with introduction by Clare C. Riedl. (Mediaeval Philosophical Texts in Translation, No. 1.) Milwaukee : The Marquette University Press, 1942. Pp. 17. $0.50. There is a great promise in this slight pamphlet of seventeen pages, for it is marked No. 1. A new series, then, is beginning, bearing further testimony to the growing vitality of philosophical scholarship in the United States. The choice of a subject for the first pamphlet is fortunate. Robert Grosseteste stands close to the origins of the Oxford Franciscan school; his influence has been felt, therefore, by Oxford and Franciscan scholars. Roger Bacon considered him the most learned man of his day. He was a scientist as well as a philosopher; his work is characterized " by a blending of philosophy with experimental science." Miss Riedl has given us a short and clear introduction to the...