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The author of this book is apparently a psychologist with analytic training and a mystical bent. This book is the first of a trilogy, the second
and third of which are projected under the titles (1) The Universal Design of Birth, and (2) The Universal Design of the Oedipus Complex. The author attempts to show in this book that there is a Universal Design at work in the whole of material, inorganic and organic, as well as within the human mind.
The first part of the book consists of a demonstration of the Universal Design in the structure of the atom, the structure of cosmic nebulae, the structure of the solar system, the structure of the living cell, and the structure of society. In all these phenomena, the author is impressed by the consistency of a configuration of nucleus and periphery. It is this configuration which he believes “guides the multifarious integrations which constitute the visible and invisible universe”.
In the second part of the book, an attempt is made to display the concept of nucleus and periphery in terms of psychology. Finally, in the third part of the book, by means of dream interpretation, the same configuration is traced in the phenomena of the fetus in utero, the first breath, the structure and function of the gastro-intestinal tract, the eye and ear, the urinary system, the genital system, the cerebrospinal system, and in cerebral functioning.
The book makes the mystical assumption of identifying form with cause. The author relies heavily on the studies of Jung, and like Jung, operates with symbols as with materials. Such an approach, although interesting and thoughtful, cannot rise above the data with which it starts. The book would be of interest to those who are interested in a study of dream symbolism. [Mortimer Ostow.]