The constitution of man considered in relation to external objects ... / [George Combe].

  • George Combe
Date:
[1850?]
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The constitution of man considered in relation to external objects ... / [George Combe]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    medical aid, admit the existence of organic laws: And fne sciences of government, legislation, education, indeed our whole train of conduct through life, proceed upon the ad- mission of laws in morals. Accordingly, the laws of na- ture have formed an interesting subject of inquiry to phi- losophers of all ages; but, so far as I am aware, no author has hitherto attempted to point out, in a combined and systematic form, the relations between these laws and the constitution of Man; which must, nevertheless, be done, before our knowledge of them can be beneficially applied nor has any preceding author unfolded the independent operation of the several natural laws, and the practical consequences which follow from this fact. The great ob- ject of the following Essay is to exhibit these relations and consequences with a view to the improvement of education, and the regulation of individual and national conduct But although my purpose is practical, a theory of Mind forms an essential element in the execution of the plan. Without it, no comparison can be instituted between the natural constitution of man and external objects. Phre- nology appears to me to be the clearest, most complete, and best supported system of Human Nature, which has hitherto been taught; and I have assumed it as the basis of this Essay. But the practical value of the views now to be unfolded does not depend entirely on Phrenology. The latter, as a theory of Mind, is itself valuable, only in so far as it is a just exposition of what previously existed in human nature. We are physical, organic, and moral beings, acting under the sanction of general laws, whether the connection of different mental qualities with particular portions of the brain, as taught by Phrenology, be admit- ted or denied. Individuals, under the impulse of passion, or by the direction of intellect, will hope, fear, wonder, perceive, and act, whether the degree in which they habitually do so be ascertainable by the means which il points out or not In so far, therefore, as this Essay
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