Book Reviews and Notices : UNESCO: Its Purpose and Its Philosophy. By JULIAN HUXLEY. (Washington: Public Affairs Press. 1948. Pp. 74. $2.00 cloth; $1.00 paper.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591294800100344
• Published date: 01 September 1948
• Date: 01 September 1948
• Subject Matter: Articles

352

piece

of

conciseness,

and

the

estimate

reveals

excellent

insight

and

realism.

Idealism

is

in

Dr.

Leland’s

line

of

sight

but

the

glasses

he

wears

are

not

un-

duly

rose

tinted.

The

broad

programs

and

objectives

of

UNESCO

are

here

indicated,

and

at

the

same

time

the

practical

limitations

under

which

it

operates.

The

final

part

of

Dr.

Leland’s

lecture

is

devoted

to

a

discussion

of

the

organization

and

functioning

of

the

United

States

National

Commission

for

UNESCO.

No

other

country,

Dr.

Leland

points

out,

has

yet

set

up

a

body

of

corresponding

importance;

the

United

States

Commission

serves

&dquo;as

a

sort

of

pioneer

model&dquo;

which

is

closely

watched

throughout

the

world.

RUSSELL

H.

FITZGIBBON.

University

of

California

at

Los

Angeles.

UNESCO:

Its

Purpose

and

Its

Philosophy.

By

JULIAN

HUXLEY.

(Wash-

ington:

Public

Affairs

Press.

1948.

Pp.

74.

$2.00

cloth;

$1.00

paper.)

Dr.

Julian

Huxley,

the

eminent

British

biologist

and

Director

General

of

UNESCO,

here

sets

for

himself

a

task

before

which

lesser

men

might

quail-to

outline

not

only

the

aims

and

objectives

of

UNESCO,

but

to

pro-

vide

also

&dquo;a

working

hypothesis

concerning

human

existence

and its

aim

and

objects&dquo;

(p.

4) .

In

reaching

such

guiding

principles,

he

admits

a

difficulty.

They

cannot

be

based

exclusively

on

any

of

the

various

world

theologies,

politico-eco-

nomic

doctrines,

or

other

special

philosophies-no

choice

can

be

made

be-

tween

Islam

or

Christianity,

Marxism

or

capitalism,

existentialism

or

spirit-

ualism.

His

conclusion

is,

therefore,

that

&dquo;the

general

philosophy

of

UNESCO

should,

it

seems,

be

a

scientific

world

humanism,

global

in

extent

and

evolutionary

in

background&dquo;

(p.

6).

But

even

these

principles

will

be

challenged

in

the

present

dessentient

world

either

as

exhibiting

a

measure

of

preference,

and

as

incapable

of

harmonizing

conflicting

ideologies

or,

still

worse,

as

signifying

nothing

in

particular.

For

a

concrete

program,

the

author

outlines

a

series

of

prodigious

ob-

jectives,

which

include,

in

part:

the

promotion

of

world

political

unity;

a

campaign

for

universal

literacy,

higher

quality

in

education,

and

increased

educational

opportunity;

the

pursuit

and

application

of

scientific

knowl-

edge

and

of

the

scientific

method

on

subjects

ranging

from

celestial

mechan-

ics

to

extra-sensory

perception;

the

advancement

of

the

study

of

philosophy,

including

reformulations

of

standards

of

morality

and

aesthetics;

the

un-

dertaking

of

both

general

and

particular

studies

in

the

social

sciences;

the

encouragement

of

the

creative

arts

and

their

appreciation;

the

improve-

ment

of

libraries,

cultural

museums,

and

other

institutions,

etc.

Each

of

these

general

goals

is

to

be

effected

by

numerous

projects.

In

speaking

of

the

social

sciences,

for

example,

Dr.

Huxley

states:

&dquo;It

would

be

of

the

greatest

interest

to

bring

together

some

of

the

world’s

leading

com-

parative

neurologists

with

a

group

of

experts

in

administration,

to

see

how