The New Vision of Man by F. S. MarvinReview by: M. F. Ashley-MontaguIsis, Vol. 30, No. 2 (May, 1939), pp. 312-313Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/226305 .

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3I2 ISIS), XX, 2

there are a few points at which the author himself fails to applv the operational method, as for example in his references to Russia, and to the alleged relation between prolonged rational thought and hard work; there may be room for argument here and with other statements elsewhere in the book, but with the main thesis there can be nothing but agreement, and for its expression nothing but plaise.

Hahnemann Medical College, M. F. ASHLEY-MONTAGU.

Philadelphia

F. S. Marvin.-The New Vision of Man. Pag. I7I. GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN Ltd., London, I938, (5/-).

Within the brief compass of this volume Mr. MARVIN brilliantly traces the rise of man to such humanity as he has attained, and delineates the means by which he considers mankind may advance towards the accom- plishment of that full " humanitas " which would appear to be the natural development of his history and being. Above all, Mr. MARVIN, as a good humanist, is an optimist. The recent wholesale defection of large masses of civilized men from the ideal of " humanitas " is regarded as a transient aberration from the straight but narrow way from which mankind as a whole will not be deflected, and to which these erring masses will some day return. I must confess to a sympathy for Mr. MARVIN'S thought, even though I see in it a perfect example of leisure-class thinking; the kind of thinking that made HITLER, MUSSOLINI and FRANCO possible, and LENIN almost impossible.

By intelligent education, by the proper training of our teachers, and the proper synthesis of knowledge, Mr. MARVIN hopes eventually that man- kind will enter into the full share of its birthright, of humane under- standing of the world, of himself, and of his fellows, an inheritance which will at once constitute both the highest good and the highest happiness. This is a splendid ideal, and education of the individual in the truest sense could, no doubt, achieve at least part of this ideal. But how, one may ask, is the correct sort of education and synthesis of knowledge to be brought about in a State which is hostile to the correct sort of education and which renders it impossible because such education would be completely contrary to the ideals of those who are at its helm, and who are supported by a powerful number of others with similar State ideals? Mr. MARVIN thinks the idea of a League of Nations a beautiful one. So do we. Mr. MARVIN deplores the fact that it has been rather badly let down by certain unspecified nations, and hopes that the future may see an improvement in its status and in its efficiency; but never once does Mr. MARVIN ask himself why this beautiful idea

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REVIEWS 313

has been made to fail, why in fact it was created, and who actually caused it to fail. These, I suggest, are very pertinent questions. Mr. MARVIN

emphasizes the great place which science has played and must continue to play in the progress of mankind, and thinks it a matter for congratula- tion that working men are now turning from the study of economics (are they?) to the study of more " humane " subjects. Strangely enough, Mr. MARVIN nowhere betrays a sign that he is conscious of the fact that the only scientific analysis of the chief ills of modem society has come from an economist whom working men fortunately continue to study. May I, with all the respect that is due Mr. MARVIN, suggest that had he devoted more study to the subject of economics and less to the study of humanity in the abstract, he might by that means have arrived at a fuller understanding of the modern dilemma of humanity than he appears to have done in this book? It is the economic royalists who created the League of Nations to serve as a smoke screen for their own activities; it is they who, when they had done with it, let it down, and it is they who maintain the armies of the insurgent FRANCO-since Mr. MARVIN speaks of these matters-against the elected government of the people because the former is on their side and the latter not. It is they who keep the Non-Intervention Committee from intervening, and it is they who would and do make Mr. MARVIN's humanity impossible. Surely, it is obvious that if all this is true then there can be no advance until these antinomian forces are controlled, for unless we who can see the virtue in Mr. MARVIN'S ideal of humanity control them, they will crush us. It is the great paradox of our time that the true visionary can have no use for visions. Mr. MARVIN moves our heart, but he cannot delude our mind. In a world of stark realities the new vision of man is a Fascist's nightmare and a philosopher's dream-a gas-mask upon the skeleton of what might have been !

Hahnemann Medical College, M. F. ASHLEY-MONTAGU. Philadelphia.

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