The work of Dr. Boris Sidis in the field of
psycho-pathology is well known, and his new work, The Foundations of Normal and Abnormal Psychology (Duckworth and Co., 7s. 6d. net), will be read with interest. The first half of the book is an attempt to analyse the fundamental concepts upon which the study of mental phenomena rests ; the second half presents a general view of the nature and development of consciousness. The subjects discussed are so complicated that no attempt at criticism can be made here; but we may observe that the dogmatic attitude sometimes adopted by Dr. Sidia does not assist in convincing his readers. In his chapters upon the "subconscious," for instance, he seems to be unnecessarily severe upon his opponents ; and his criticism of Freud's theories, though possibly justified intellectually, gains nothing in persuasiveness from its somewhat hectoring tone. The investigation of the mind is an obscure and difficult task, and in its present stage controversial writing is most unlikely to be helpful.
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