Holism and Evolution

THE advance, and indeed the proper comprehension, of evolutionary philosophy is to-day suffering greatly from the increase of specialism. This specialism is to a great extent inevitable, but it is at least in part due to an unfortunate byproduct of the spreading appreciation of the value of research. The educationist realises that there is no finer training than that which is gained by the conduct of a piece of original investigation. The community as a whole, too, is beginning to appreciate, even though dimly, the extent to which scientific research enters into the foundations upon which rest the health and comfort and prosperity of the modern civilised state.Holism and Evolution.By General the Right Hon. J. C. Smuts. Pp. ix + 361. (London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1926.) 18s. net.