BOOK REVIEWS
143
tributed) makes it the most interesting of all and appealing to this reader.
Max Scheler's statement is quoted more than once, with approval, about the coming of "the hour that harbours in its breast the future of humanity, the hour when Asia and Europe will enter upon a discussion of the principles of their religious and metaphysical life" (p.313). The book does not present directly such a discussion except in a few spots, notably the essay on the uniqueness of Europe by a Frenchman. Is it because religious and metaphysical principles are the things that ultimately divide as well as unite? Slater's essay should provide a step toward Scheler's prophesy. This should be coupled with Needham's proposition that it is the common knowledge (and use) of nature, which is what he means by science, that is the real basis of dialogue, if not indeed of the unity of mankind. What is the place of normative values in the study of science and in intercultural confrontations? Should we, as the important footnote on pp.317-318 suggests, confine ourselves to "thoughtful and accurate description" (such as provided by the historical essays in the book) for the time being, avoiding value judgments and therefore the temptation of "cultural egotism?" This is the kind of significant question the book raises but does not answer.
The essays collected in this symposium are generally short (about 15 pages) and readable. Some are better documented than others. The material in the upper half of p.318, for example, is too important not to be acknowledged as to its source. The long Bibliography at the end of the book would be more useful if classified or annotated. It should be otherwise more selective. Karl Wittfogel's work, Oriental Despotism, apparently important because it is mentioned twice in the book, is strangely left out of the Bibliography. Wang Gungwu's family name is Wang, not Gungwu, as arranged in the "Notes on Contributors" on p.355 and stated on p.316—a minor case of East-West misunderstanding! It may be noteworthy that eight out of the twenty contributors (most of them historians) were at one time or another associated with St. Anthony's College, Oxford, making the book to this extent a joint product of that scholarly community. The book, finally, includes as its most important appendix "A Dialogue on the Glass Curtain between Arnold Toynbee and Raghavan
BOOK REVIEWS
143
tributed) makes it the most interesting of all and appealing to this reader.
Max Scheler's statement is quoted more than once, with approval, about the coming of "the hour that harbours in its breast the future of humanity, the hour when Asia and Europe will enter upon a discussion of the principles of their religious and metaphysical life" (p.313). The book does not present direct- ly such a discussion except in a few spots, notably the essay on the uniqueness of Europe by a Frenchman. Is it because religious and metaphysical principles are the things that ultimately divide as well as unite? Slater's essay should provide a step toward Scheler's prophesy. This should be coupled with Needham's proposition that it is the common knowledge (and use) of nature, which is what he means by science, that is the real basis of dialogue, if not indeed of the unity of mankind. What is the place of normative values in the study of science and in intercul- tural confrontations? Should we, as the important footnote on pp.317-318 suggests, confine ourselves to "thoughtful and accu- rate description" (such as provided by the historical essays in the book) for the time being, avoiding value judgments and therefore the temptation of “cultural egotism?" This is the kind of significant question the book raises but does not answer.
The essays collected in this symposium are generally short (about 15 pages) and readable. Some are better documented than others. The material in the upper half of p.318, for example, is too important not to be acknowledged as to its source. The long Bibliography at the end of the book would be more useful if classified or annotated. It should be otherwise more selective. Karl Wittfogel's work, Oriental Despotism, apparently important because it is mentioned twice in the book, is strangely left out of the Bibliography. Wang Gungwu's family name is Wang, not Gungwu, as arranged in the "Notes on Contributors" on p.355 and stated on p.316— a minor case of East-West misunderstand- ing! It may be noteworthy that eight out of the twenty contri- butors (most of them historians) were at one time or another associated with St. Anthony's College, Oxford, making the book to this extent a joint product of that scholarly community. The book, finally, includes as its most important appendix “A Dialo- gue on the Glass Curtain between Arnold Toynbee and Raghavan
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