Abstract
IN the form of a plea for renewed freedom of speculation in thought, Prof. Buchanan has written a very interesting book in which he is not concerned with social and political restraints, but with the far more stultifying hesitations in the minds of thinkers of the present time. He is alarmed to find all around him, evidence of the fact that" the intellectual process is being called in question and its consequences feared. As subject-matter for investigation, Prof. Buchanan has chosen the science and profession of medicine, which throughout European history has always fought and won the battle for freedom of thought, but which, now that it is in possession of victory, stands hesitating at the head of the sciences, burning with intellectual energy and imagination but not knowing which way to go. In Prof. Buchanan's opinion, modern medicine is suffering from a lack of balance of the intellectual virtues, and while it has a "maximum of informatory knowledge, has a minimum of understanding".
The Doctrine of Signatures:
a Defence of Theory in Medicine. By Scott Buchanan. (International Library of Psychology, Philosophy and Scientific Method.) Pp. xv + 205 + 20. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd., 1938.) 7s. 6d. net.
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The Doctrine of Signatures. Nature 142, 976 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/142976a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/142976a0