Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/877

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

NOTES AND ABSTRACTS 863

This may seem to be ethics. It needs to be stated that ethics is wholly concerned with feeling, while religion is wholly concerned with function. " Pleasure and pain furnish the only basis for a moral quality, while religion has nothing to do with pleasure and pain, but is solely devoted to the maintenance of life." LESTER F. WARD, International Journal of Ethics, January, 1898.

Catholic Cooperation in Charity. "The primary object of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the edification and advancement of the spiritual welfare of its own members, while the means to be employed in securing that object are prayer and practical works of mercy and charity."

" It is the fashion of Catholic charity to act, while learning theories, when the needs of suffering humanity demand relief and remedy." This should be supple- mented by a methodical investigation of social conditions, in order that the relief may have more social efficiency.

Action should be based upon knowledge. Knowledge of real facts can be obtained only through cordial and active cooperation which such other organizations of a public and semi-public character as may be operating in the field of charity.

" While I would not advocate any direct affiliation with the charitable departments of other religious denominations, yet, where they are all coordinated and operate under the auspices of civic bodies, for the purpose of bringing into cooperation all of the philanthropic forces of a municipality, then would I say, work with them hand in hand, and, while not departing from our own particular sphere or field of action, yet, at the same time, rendering to our dissenting brethren such assistance as we can, and receiving in return therefor the benefit of valuable knowledge necessary for the intelli- gent conduct of our own work."

"The Society of St Vincent de Paul has become a quasi-public body, and it behooves its members to so conduct their work that no harm or injury shall occur to the public in general, because of indiscriminate almsgiving by its members. It should willingly, cordially, and enthusiastically join hands, as did Cardinal Manning, with organized charity for the elimination of pauperism. TIMOTHY S. HURLEY, The Charities Review, December, 1897.

The Fundamental Laws of Anthropo-Sociology. "Anthropology is des- tined to revolutionize the political and social sciences as radically as bacteriology has revolutionized the science of medicine." Economics confines its scope to only one phase and that only a secondary phase of social development. Anthropology furnishes a scientific explanation of the historical development of civilizations, by showing them to depend upon the processes of biological evolution."

The two ethnic elements which predominate in Europe are Homo European and Homo Alpinus. " In the south of Europe diverse secondary elements are mingled with these two principal races." They have been called the Mediterranean type. " In the hierarchy of races the first place must be given to Homo Eurofxrus ( the doli- chocephalic-blond or so-called Aryan), while Homo Alpinus (the brachycephalic type ) and the Mediterranean probably rank in the order named."

-o of the distribution of -wealth. "In countries inhabited jointly by Homo

Europttus and Homo Alpinus, the former element possesses more than its proportionate share of wealth."

2. Law of altitudes. " In regions inhabited jointly by Homo Europaus and Homo Alpinus, the former is concentrated in the lower levels."

3. I^aw of the localization of cities. " Important cities'are almost always located in dolichocephalic regions or in the least brachycephalic parts of brachycephalic regions."

4. Law of urban indices. " The cephalic index of urban populations is lower than that of surrounding rural populations."

5. Law of emigration. "In a population in process of dissociation by displace- ment, it is the less brachycephalic element which emigrates."

6. Law of marriages. "The cephalic index of children of parents from two dif- ferent regions is lower than the average between the i ml ices of these regions."