Abstract
THE ancient precept, inscribed in gold letters over the portico of the Temple at Delphi, is rendered into English as “Know Thyself”. This precept is adopted as a motto by the author of “Self: a Study in Ethics and Endocrinology”. Mr. M. Dillon is the author of the book, and Dr. Gilbert Russell writes a commendatory but cautious foreword. The author sets himself the question: Why is a man what he is ? The beliefs, tastes, hobbies, eccentricities, which build up the normal man or woman, are the origin of the disorders which develop if any trait gets out of perspective. This book is an attempt to discover how far the character of the individual depends (the words are important) upon physical structure and the chemistry of the body. The author examines the difference of outlook between the two sexes, how this difference arises and what it implies. In discussing, in the second part of the book, the mind, he necessarily deals with the problem of free-will, and this brings him to a synthesis of science and philosophy as a guide to man's understanding of himself.
Self
A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology. By Michael Dillon. Pp. vi + 128. (London: William Heinemann (Medical Books), Ltd., 1946.) 6s. net.
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Self. Nature 158, 431 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158431c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/158431c0