Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/719

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REVIEWS 70s

superior merit the hope of escape from a low caste in the suc- ceeding rebirth, he observes: "How much better it would have been for the whites in the United States had they taught the negroes the doctrines of transmigration of soul and Karma instead of Christianity!" The book will make the reader realize that present conditions in the United States are startlingly similar to those which in India gave rise to a system of castes.

It is to be hoped Mr. Ketkar will complete his series of studies in caste. Such a contribution to sociology justifies the policy of the progressive Maharajah of Baroda in sending promising Hindus to acquaint themselves with the learning of the West.

Edward Alsworth Ross

University of Wisconsin

Modern Educators and Their Ideals. By Tadasu Misawa. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1909. Pp. 304. $1.25.

This work is a summary of the ideas of modern writers about education, of the same general type as Munroe's The Educational Ideal and Laurie's Educational Opinion front the Renaissance. It differs from most of these summaries of modern opinion in making Comenius the primary point of departure, thus omitting the group of Renaissance theorists, Rabelais, Montaigne, Ascham, etc. There are chapters on Comenius, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Froebel, Herbart, and Spencer.

Considerable space is devoted to a discussion of the educa- tional theories of modern philosophers with chapters on Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. Twenty-one pages are devoted to Fichte and only twenty-four to Pestalozzi. Kant receives fifteen pages and Basedow only five, yet the author quotes Paul Monroe to the effect that "Basedow succeeded in effecting a complete change in the whole nature of education and instruction in Germany."

A unique feature is the inclusion of chapters on W. T. Harris and G. Stanley Hall. In the preface the author makes special acknowledgment of indebtedness to President Hall.

The book is intended for "students of pedagogy in colleges or normal schools, teachers and other practical workers in educational fields, and those parents who take a special interest in the problems of education."

The following criticisms are suggested: (i) Most American