Адам Конституциясы және сыртқы факторларға қатысы

The Constitution of Man (or more completely, The Constitution of Man Considered in Relation to External Objects) first published in 1828 is a work by George Combe, who is credited with popularizing the pseudoscience of Phrenology. Combe argues that the human mind is best understood through phrenology, and that the relative size of the various regions of the brain defined by phrenology determines a person's behavior and potential interactions with the external world. In The Constitution of Man, Combe uses phrenology to create a practical science of morality, proposing that conforming to natural laws leads to happiness based on the phrenological understanding of human nature. The book was an international bestseller, selling at least 100,000 copies in Britain alone and over 300,000 copies worldwide by 1855, largely due to the publication of the 'people's edition,' making it one of the best sellers of the nineteenth century.

Combe prefaces his work by stating, "no author has hitherto attempted to point out, in a combined and systematic form, the relations between [the laws of nature] and the constitution of Man; which must, nevertheless, be done The great object of the following Essay is to exhibit these relations, with a view to the improvement of education, and the regulation of individual conduct." He explains his use of phrenology in the work by saying, "Phrenology appears to me to be the clearest, most complete, and best supported system of Human Nature." Natural Laws refer to "the rules of action impressed on objects and beings by their natural constitution" Combe presents the relationship between God, Nature, and the Natural Laws: "If, then, the reader keep in view that God is the creator; that Nature, in the general sense, means the world which He has made; and, in a more limited sense, the particular constitution which he has bestowed on any special object and that a Law of Nature means the established mode in which that constitution acts, and the obligation thereby imposed on intelligent beings to attend to it, he will be in no danger of misunderstanding my meaning"

Combe identifies three categories for the Natural Laws: Physical, Organic, and Intelligent. The Physical Laws "embrace all the phenomena of mere matter," the Organic Laws [indicate] that "every phenomenon connected with the production, health, growth, decay, and death of vegetables and animals, takes place with undeviating regularity." Combe defines Intelligent beings as "all animals that have a distinct consciousness,"

In Section one "Calamities Arising from Infringements of the Physical Laws," Combe lists numerous organic and physical laws, and illustrates how their obedience results in happiness, and their disobedience in punishment. If one obeys the physical laws of nature, their likelihood of suffering is decreased. In Section two, "On the Evils that Befall Mankind, from Infringement of the Organic Laws," Combe begins by reiterating his view that obedience to the moral laws and increasing ones knowledge through education beings happiness and livelihood. Education allows man to realize the relationship between the obedience of the Natural Laws and happiness. Combe also emphasizes that theoretical and practical knowledge should be combined through the integration of scientific and religious teachings. Later in section two, Combe begins his discussion of phrenology and the inheritance of human traits. He states, "Mental talents and dispositions are determined by the size and constitution of the brain. The brain is a portion of our organized system, and as such, is subject to the organic laws, by one of which its qualities are transmitted by hereditary descent." Combe extends this argument to nations of people: "The differences of national character are equally conspicuous as those of national brains, and it is surprising how permanently both endure" citing the perceived contemporary differences in the "Hindoo, Chinese, New Hollander, Negro, and Charib" skulls. He then investigates the contemporary notions of trait inheritance in 'lower animals' like sheep and dogs and claims that the inheritance patterns observed in animals, children acquiring habits from the parent, resembles that of humans. Combe presents a hierarchy of human minds by human groups: "Europeans possess a favourable development of the moral and intellectual organs," and Hindoos, and Native American "brains are inferior." He goes on to say that the child with two European parents has superior mental qualities to that of a child with one European parent and one non European parent, and that the child with one European parent has superior mental qualities to the child with no European parents On the basis that intellectual and moral habits are inherited by offspring from parents, it is even more important to preserve and develop these faculties so that they may be ideal in offspring. Combe also proposes that the heredity of the capacities is limited to good and not evil, and despite the stratification of the races, each has the potential for improvement through generations up to an ideal limit of capacity. In Section three "Calamities Arising from Infringement of the Moral Law," and section four "Moral Advantages of Punishment," Combe argues that the development of human moral and intellectual capacities results in individual, religious, moral, and societal improvement.

In this chapter, Combe presents historical examples of the interactions of the natural laws, and how obedience to one does not necessarily imply obedience to the rest, and how punishment and reward for those laws disobeyed and obeyed, respectively, occurs in the lives of men.

Combe concludes by asserting that Phrenology provides an unprecedented science of the Mind. With Phrenology, one can understand the constitution of man, and this is essential for individual and societal happiness and improvement. By understanding the mind and relationship of the mind to the external world, Combe argues that politics, legislation, education, morals, religion, and pursuits of man have the potential to improve, if only the principles of Phrenology and the obedience of the natural laws are true, taught, and incorporated into the 'public mind.'