The Monist, Vol. 2, 1891-1892 : $b A quarterly magazineVarious
Philosophy
The Monist, Vol. 2, 1891-1892 : $b A quarterly magazine
Various
Philosophy -- Periodicals
Such a wish would have had to remain unsatisfied six years ago, when the
_Diätetik des Geistes_ first appeared. It is true, English physicians
particularly, like West, Conolly, Maudsley, and others, had a long time
previously directed attention to the morbid phenomena of infant psychic
life, but their work, like that of their French and German professional
associates, lies buried in medical magazines and volumes not easily
accessible. The first to apply himself to the work needed in this
condition of affairs was Professor EMMINGHAUS, who digested and collected
all the material, thus supplied, in a compendious work bearing the title
_Die psychischen Störungen des Kindesalters_, Tübingen, Laupp, 1887. The
fact indeed is not to be left unrecognised that the book, in so far as it
may be used by those who have not had a medical training, possesses two
defects,—defects, however, for which the author cannot be censured. In
the first place, it is intended for physicians only, and is therefore,
on account of the many technical terms it uses, at times not uniformly
intelligible. To the serious student, however, who possesses the previous
psychological and physiological knowledge most indispensable, it presents
no difficulties of too great magnitude. The second defect likewise
springs from the purpose of the work. It consists in the fact that,
excepting a few occasional references and hints, the pedagogical aspect
of the question is not considered. Pedagogists, here, are confronted with
a problem which must be solved, and of which the solution will certainly
not be a thankless task. The writer of these lines has approached one
aspect of this question in a treatise of his entitled _Nervosität and
Mädchenerziehung_, Wiesbaden, 1890, in the course of which study he has
arrived at the conviction that an important factor is lacking in modern
pedagogics and the training of teachers. This conviction he has put into
words in another treatise, _Geistesstörungen in der Schule_, Wiesbaden,
1891, with what success it remains for the future to say.
Two years after the appearance of Emminghaus’s work a translation was
published in Germany of a French book of a similar character. _Der Irrsin
im Kindesalter_, by Dr. PAUL MOREAU, authorised edition by Dr. Demetrio
Galatti, Stuttgart, 1889, Ferdinand Enke, publisher. Unfortunately,
Moreau, as his own preface reveals, did not know, when he wrote his
book, of the existence of the German work,—a circumstance that has not
been without regrettable consequences. Taken in conjunction with the
work of Emminghaus, however, Moreau’s book possesses, on account of the
numerous morbid cases it gives, a high value; although it cannot bear
comparison with the former work in richness of material and familiarity
with the literature of the subject, and much less so in the psychological
treatment of the subject, where Emminghaus is incomparably subtler and
more profound.
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