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Whyte prefaces his book with a discussion between Socrates and Cratylus in which the latter says, “However, I assure you, Socrates, that I have already considered the matter, and after toilsome consideration I think the doctrine of Heraclitus is much more likely to be true.” To which Socrates answers, “Some other time, then, my friend, you will teach me, when you come back.” The doctrine under consideration was the Heraclitean idea that change is universal and that in change there is a pervasive order. In a sense, Whyte has set out to be the spokesman for Cratylus and Heraclitus in his concept of the Unitary Man. And he returns to a world apparently more ready—through the development of knowledge and material conditions—to re-examine its meaning with dynamic concepts.
The post-war period, which has found the world even more deeply involved in conflict than during the shooting phase, has seen an exciting development in scholarly works directed toward a reappraisal of man and his history. In addition to the book under review, significant works are F. S. C. Northrop's The Meeting of East and West; Toynbee's A Study of History; Karl Lowith's