B172658
System control number
8348
Author
Combe, G.
Title
The Constitution of Man considered in relation to external objects
Publication, distribution, etc.
Edinburgh: John Anderson, Jnr., 1828
Physical description
Fldg. pl., xii, 2, 319, 4 (pub.cat.), 20 cm
Biographical or historical data
Phrenology was the nineteenth-century practice of interpreting mental qualities and potential based on the external appearance of the skull. The author George Combe was one of phrenology’s most stalwart adherents and popularisers. Today, phrenology is referred to as a pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading or unproven.
Combe was a trained lawyer, not a physician or anatomist. This book focuses on his background and the concept of natural law, and less on anatomy. The Constitution of Man was his best-selling book, centred on Combe’s theory of natural laws. It sold approximately 350,000 copies between 1828 and 1900, contrasting to Darwin’s Origin of Species, which sold only 50,000 between the same period. Over 100 publishers produced the book continuously until 1899. Few books were more widely distributed or were so influential in changing the way people conceived themselves.
This edition is the American Edition and includes a preface written by Combe addressing the American public, detailing that he has added seven years of additional observation and discussion to previous publications. He also includes three new chapters because, as he states, the people of the United States have advanced farther towards the practical application of the principles developed than any other nation.
Combe was a trained lawyer, not a physician or anatomist. This book focuses on his background and the concept of natural law, and less on anatomy. The Constitution of Man was his best-selling book, centred on Combe’s theory of natural laws. It sold approximately 350,000 copies between 1828 and 1900, contrasting to Darwin’s Origin of Species, which sold only 50,000 between the same period. Over 100 publishers produced the book continuously until 1899. Few books were more widely distributed or were so influential in changing the way people conceived themselves.
This edition is the American Edition and includes a preface written by Combe addressing the American public, detailing that he has added seven years of additional observation and discussion to previous publications. He also includes three new chapters because, as he states, the people of the United States have advanced farther towards the practical application of the principles developed than any other nation.
Subject
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE PHRENOLOGY (Categories)
B172658
UKLeTMM
20260428131159.0