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In 289 large octavo pages Dr. Rosett puts forth a very commendable treatise that would essay to clarify the intricate dynamics of the human animal, particularly as to those qualities or factors roughly delineated by the terms thought, imagery and hallucination. As in all large or semi-large books of this nature an historical apercu seems inevitable. Thus brief citings from Plato, Alcmaeon, Galen, Bacon, to Herbert Spencer and Charles Darwin, leading up to a too brief summary of Hughlings Jackson's formulation of the evolution or devolution (dissolution) of the nervous system.
The function of the emotions is considered from a viewpoint of redistribution of the bodily energies. New impacts, unusual stimuli call for special adaptations. These are corralled under the abstraction of States of Attention and their variations are discussed in terms of the anatomical patterns of the nervous system; as in idiots, lower animals unmodified or deprived of certain structural parts.
Rosett is a believer in the subcortical locus of emotional states, perhaps captivated by the Bardian “sham rage” type of formulation. He is not altogether consistent in that the ‘entire body’ is at times made responsible, then again only certain parts of the body. It may be only a matter of phrasing but consistency in language is not to be lightly regarded. Thus we cavil at the precision of the statement that ‘the behavior of the sound animal in a highly emotional state is thus similar to that of the decorticated animal (p. 29): It is never ‘similar to’ unless one plays