The Science of Power

2014 Reprint of Original 1918 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. According to Kidd, emotion rather than reason is held to be the source of power in life, not knowledge of intellect. The author's distrust of reason as a source of power, no doubt a casualty of World War I, and his doubts regarding the efficacy of knowledge are expressed throughout this work. The intellectual factor is held to be of slight, incidental value in the civilizing process. Kidd's interpretation of the failure of Western civilization is done convincingly and his constructive suggestions for the basis of a new social order are also interesting and thought provoking. The work contains elements of stimulus and challenge throughout.

Benjamin Kidd (September 9, 1858 - October 2, 1916) Benjamin Kidd was born in County Clare, Ireland. Benjamin entered the Inland Revenue Department of the Civil Service in 1877. He worked in obscurity there for seventeen years. However, his spare time was devoted to study and writing, in 1894. He became widely known after the publication of his essay, Social Evolution. This work was a worldwide success and was translated into German, Swedish, French, Russian, Italian, Chinese, Czech, Danish and Arabic. The success of his work allowed Benjamin to retire from the Civil Service and in 1898 he travelled extensively throughout America and Canada. These travels resulted in a series of articles commissioned by The Times. He later went on to write many works some of which are considered to be some of the most groundbreaking work ever to be created.