Books received and books noted

Abstract

ABERCROMBIE, M. L. J. The anatomy of judgment: an investigation into the processes of perception and reasoning. New York: Basic Books, 1960. Pp. IS6. $4.so.~Incorporates the findings of the author's ten years of research and experimentation with science teaching methods. The author describes in detail the free group discussion method she developed, drawing upon the insights of perceptual psychology and the techniques of group psychotherapy. BATESON, G. (Ed.) Perceval's narrative; a patient's account of his psychosis, I830I832. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Univer. Press, 1961. Pp. xxii + 331. $6.7S. BERG, 1. A., & BASS, B. M. (Eds.) Conformity and deviation. New York: Harper, 1961. Pp. viii + 449. $6.so. ~ Theoretical and experimental papers from a symposium held at Louisiana State University, March, 1960. BINKLEY, L. J. Contemporary ethical theories. New York: Phil. Libr., 1961. Pp' x + 203. $4.7S. ~ The theories of G. E. Moore, W. D. Ross, A. C. Ewing, A· J. Ayer, S. Toulmin, C. Stevenson, J. O. Urmson, and R. ivI. Hare are presented, most of whom are British. They have "gone a long way toward removing some of the muddles which the classifications of some previous philosophers had caused." BIRNBACH, M. Neo-Freudian social philosophy. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Univ. Press, 1961. Pp. vi + 283. $6.00. The contributions of F. Alexander, E. Fromm, Karen Horney, A. Kardiner, H. D. Laswell, and H. S. Sullivan are here considered by an instructor in political science. He finds that their view of human nature places them firmly "in the humanistic, individualistic, libertarian tradition of Western thought." Their ultimate success ·will depend "on those who may avail themselves of the materials they have put forward." BRUSSEL, J. A. The layman's guide to psychiatr..,'V. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1961. Pp. xi + 23S. $I.SO paper. BURTON, A. (Ed.) Psychotherapy of the psychoses. New York: Basic Books, 1961. Pp. x + 386. $7.So. -; More than half of the fourteen contributions are informed by psychoanalytic theory; the rest comprehend the Sullivanian, Jungian, existentialist, and non-directive approaches. By way of an excellent introduction, M. A. Sechehaye gives a short account of the development of psychotherapy with psychotic patients during the last fifty years.-Basic Book News. CANTONI, L. J., & CANTONI, LUCILE. Counseling your friends; techniques in psychotherapy for the layman -; with which he can help his disturbed friends and loved ones to better understand and resolve their personal problems. N ew York: vVilliam-Frederick Press, 1961. Pp. lOS. $1.S0 paper. CANTRIL, H. Human nature and political systems. New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers Univer. Press, 1961. Pp. xiii + 112. $3.00 In the last of three lectures the author finds: "The American idea clearly has the ·widest range of offerings of the highest quality. For it can display a whole array of experiences available after security and stability are attained. On the other hand, any political system that denies freedom does violence to the human design." DAY, C. B. The philosophers oj China, classical and contemporary. New York: Phil. Libr., 1962. Pp. viii + 426. $6.00 By a former lecturer at Hangchow University. The particular value of the book is that it presents contemporary trends under the Communist regime in detail. FISKE, D. W., & MADDI, S. R. (Eds.) Functions oj varied experience. Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey Press, 1961. Pp. vii + SOL $7.9S. This is an important book, devoted to the proposition that the organism is active, not just reactive, and therefore requires variation. "The need for varied experience can be construed as the need of higher organisms for the environment in which these species have developed. . .. Such an organism actually requires such an environment not only to maintain its capacity for adaptation but also to sustain its internal processes. Two billion years of evolution stand behind the Cmutuality'-the fitness for and need for the niche to which the organism's evolution has adapted it" (p. SS). The book provides a conceptual