INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. In the numerous discussions which have arisen out of Dr. Gall's discovery of the functions of the brain, many attempts have been made to show that his views were not original. The divisions of that organ into different compartments, and the location in these of different mental faculties, exhibited by various authors, from Aristotle down to John Baptista Porta who published in the seventeenth century, have been confidently referred to, as evidences that Dr. Gall's doctrines are the mere revival of exploded theories. Dr. Gall himself has recorded the opinions and speculations of these authors, and pointed out that while they located the faculties in different parts of the brain from fancy, he did so from observation. But the nearest approach to Dr. Gall's discovery, which has come under my notice, is one that the opponents of Phrenology have not referred to. It is contained in "An Inquiry into the influence of Physical Causes upon the Moral Faculty," delivered by Dr. Benjamin Rush, before a meeting of the American Philosophical Society, held at Philadelphia, on the 27th of February, 1786, published by their request, and dedicated to Dr. Benjamin Franklin. In this Inquiry "coming discoveries" may be said to have cast their shadows before; and Dr. Rush, by observing and faithfully recording the phenomena of nature, has brought to light several important truths which have since been confirmed and elucidated by Phrenology, in a manner that evinces, on his part, extraordinary depth and perspicuity of intellect, combined with the highest moral qualities. The "Moral Faculty," mentioned in his "Inquiry,” appears to me to comprehend nearly the three moral sentiments of Benevolence, Veneration, and Conscientiousness, treated of by Phrenologists, each of which is manifested by means of a particular organ, and is influenced by its condition of health or disease; and if the following pages be perused with this explanation in view, the close approximation of Dr. Rush's remarks to the doctrines of Phrenology, will be easily recognised. In many details he differs from, and falls short of the views of Phrenologists, but in the 4 general conclusion maintained by him, that physical causes influence the moral faculty, the coincidence is complete. I have not been able to find this "Inquiry" printed separately from Dr. Rush's general works; and as it will probably prove interesting to many persons who are not in possession of these volumes, I have been induced to present it in this form to the citizens of the United States. Although all the views contained in it may not have been supported by subsequent investigations, there is so much of sagacity in the author, and of truth in his conclusions, that America may be justly proud of the genius of her son. GEORGE COMBE, PHILADELPHIA, of Edinburgh. AN INQUIRY, ETC. GENTLEMEN, It was for the laudable purpose of exciting a spirit of emulation and inquiry among the members of our body, that the founders of our society instituted an annual oration. The task of preparing, and delivering this exercise, hath devolved, once more, upon me. I have submitted to it, not because I thought myself capable of fulfilling your intentions, but because I wished, by a testimony of my obedience to your requests, to atone for my long absence from the temple of science. The subject, upon which I am to have the honour of addressing you this evening, is on the influence of physical causes upon the moral faculty. By the moral faculty I mean a capacity in the human mind of distinguishing and choosing good and evil, or, in other words, virtue and vice. It is a native principle, and though it be capable of improvement by experience and reflection, it is not derived from either of them. St. Paul and Cicero give us the most perfect account of it that is to be found in modern or ancient authors. "For when the Gentiles (says St. Paul,) which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves; which show the works of the law written in their hearts, their consciences also, bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excusing, another."* The words of Cicero are as follow: "Est igitur hæc, judices, non scripta, sed nata lex, quam non didicimus, accepimus, legimus, verum ex natura ipsa arripuimus, hausimus, expressimus, ad quam non docti, sed facti, non instituti, sed imbuti sumus."t This faculty is often confounded with conscience, which is a distinct and independent capacity of the mind. This is evident from the passage quoted from the writings of St. Paul, in which conscience is said to † Oratio pro Milone. * Rom. i. 14, 15. be the witness that accuses or excuses us, of a breach of the law written in our hearts. The moral faculty is what the schoolmen call the "regula regulans;" the conscience is their "regula regulata" or, to speak in more modern terms, the moral faculty performs the office of a lawgiver, while the business of conscience is to perform the duty of a judge. The moral faculty is to the conscience, what taste is to the judgment, and sensation to perception. It is quick in its operations, and like the sensitive plant, acts without reflection, while conscience follows with deliberate steps, and measures all her actions by the unerring square of right and wrong. The moral faculty exercises itself upon the actions of others. It approves, even in books, of the virtues of a Trajan, and disapproves of the vices of a Marius, while conscience confines its operations only to its own actions. These two capacities of the mind are generally in an exact ratio to each other, but they sometimes exist in different degrees in the same person. Hence we often find conscience in its full vigour, with a diminished tone, or total absence of the moral faculty. It has long been a question among metaphysicians, whether the conscience be seated in the will or in the understanding. The controversy can only be settled by admitting the will to be the seat of the moral faculty, and the understanding to be the seat of the conscience. The mysterious nature of the union of those two moral principles with the will and understanding is a subject foreign to the business of the present inquiry. As I consider virtue and vice to consist in action, and not in opinion, and as this action has its seat in the will, and not in the conscience, I shall confine my inquiries chiefly to the influence of physical causes upon that moral power of the mind, which is connected with volition, although many of these causes act likewise upon the conscience, as I shall show hereafter. The state of the moral faculty is visible in actions, which affect the well-being of society. The state of the conscience is invisible, and therefore removed beyond our investigation. The moral faculty has received different names from different authors. It is the "moral sense" of Dr. Hutchison; "the sympathy" of Dr. Adam Smith; the "moral instinct" of Rousseau ; and "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" of St. John. I have adopted the term of moral faculty from Dr. Beattie, because I conceive it conveys, with the most perspicuity, the idea of a capacity in the mind of choosing good and evil. |