360 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



PHRENOLOGY FOR THE MILLION. 



No. XLIV.— PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN. 



BY F. J. GALL, M.D. 



(Continued from Page 297.) 



Having satisfactorily, I hope, cleared up 

 all matters of doubt with respect to the soundness 

 of my doctrines thus far, I will now proceed to 

 state my views of — 



Fatalism. 



"We have seen that, under the name of ma" 

 terialism, very different things have been inclu- 

 ded ; it is the same with fatalism. 



If it be affirmed that everything in the world, 

 and even the world itself, is necessary ; that what- 

 ever is and happens, is the effect of chance or of 

 a blind necessity, and that no Supreme intelli- 

 gence ever has, or at present does concern itself 

 with existing objects, this doctrine is a species of 

 fatalism, which differs very little from atheism. 

 But this fatalism has nothing in common with 

 the doctrine which asserts the innateness of the 

 faculties of the soul and mind, and their depen- 

 dence on organisation. I cannot, therefore, in this 

 sense be accused of fatalism. 



Another species of fatalism is, that by which it 

 is taught that, in truth, there exists a Supreme 

 Being, the Creator of the Universe, as well as of 

 all the laws and all the properties which exist in 

 it ; but that he has fixed these laws in an im- 

 mutable manner, so that what happens, cannot 

 happen otherwise. In this system, man is neces- 

 sarily drawn along by the causes which lead him 

 to act, without his will having any influence. His 

 actions are always a necessary result, without 

 voluntary choice, and without moral liberty ; they 

 are neither punishable nor meritorious, and the 

 hope of future recompense vanishes, as well as the 

 fear of future punishment. 



This is the fatalism of which superstitious 

 ignorance accuses the physiology of the brain ; 

 that is to say, the doctrine of the functions of the 

 noblest organ on earth. I have incontestably 

 proved, that all our moral and intellectual dispo- 

 sitions are innate ; that none of our propensities, 

 none of our talents, not even understanding and 

 will, can manifest themselves independently of 

 this organisation. Add to this, that man has no 

 part in endowing himself with the faculties proper 

 to his species, nor, consequently, with such and 

 such propensities and faculties. Now, must we 

 infer that man is not master of his actions ? that 

 there exists no free choice, and consequently, can 

 be no merit or demerit in any action ? 



Before refuting this conclusion, let us examine, 

 with all the frankness worthy of true philosophy, 

 to what degree man is subjected to the immutable 

 laws of creation ; to what extent we must ac- 

 knowledge a necessity, an inevitable destiny or 

 fatalism ? To disentangle these confused notions, 

 is the best means of placing the truth in a clear 

 light. 



Man is obliged to acknowledge the most 

 powerful and most determinate influence of a mul- 

 titude of things on his happiness or misery, and 

 even on his whole conduct, without being able, of 

 his own will, to add to or diminish this influence. 



No one can call himself into life : no one can 

 choose the period, the climate, the nation where 

 he shall see the light of day : no one can fix the 

 manners, the customs, the laws, the form of the 

 government, the religion, the prejudices, the 

 superstitions, with which he shall be surrounded 

 from the moment of his birth : no one can say, I 

 will be servant or master, elder or younger ; I will 

 have robust or feeble health, I will be a man or 

 woman ; I will have such a temperament, such 

 inclinations or talents ; I will be foolish, idiotic, 

 simple, intelligent, a man of genius, violent or 

 calm, of a sweet or peevish temper, modest or 

 proud, heedless or circumspect, cowardly or in- 

 clined to debauchery, submissive or independent ; 

 no one can determine the prudence, or the folly of 

 his instructors ; the hurtful or useful examples he 

 shall meet, the results of his connections, fortui- 

 tous events, the influence which external things 

 shall have on him, the condition of himself or his 

 parents, or the sources of the irritation which his 

 passions and his desires shall experience. So far 

 as the relations of the five senses to external ob- 

 jects, so far as the number and the functions of 

 the viscera and the limbs have been fixed in 

 an immutable manner — so far is nature the source 

 of our inclinations, our sentiments, our faculties. 

 Their reciprocal influeuce, their relations with 

 external objects, have been irrevocably deter- 

 mined by the laws of our organisation. 



As it does not depend on us to hear and see, 

 when objects strike our eyes and our ears, so are 

 our judgments the necessary results of the laws 

 of thought. " Judgment," says M. de Tracy, 

 with reason, " is independent of the will, in this 

 sense — that when we perceive a real relation be- 

 tween two of our perceptions, it is not free for 

 us to feel it otherwise than as it is ; that is, as 

 it must appear to us by virtue of our organisa- 

 tion, and such as it would appear to all beings 

 organised like ourselves, if placed precisely in 

 the same position. It is this necessity which 

 is essential to the certainty and reality of all 

 our knowledge. For, if it depended on our fancy 

 to be affected by a large thing as if it were 

 small, by a good thing as if it were bad, by a 

 true thing as if it were false, there would no 

 longer exist any reality in the world, at least for 

 us. There would be neither largeness nor small- 

 ness, good nor evil, falsehood nor truth— our 

 fancy alone would be everything. Such an order 

 of things cannot be conceived, and it implies in- 

 consistency." 



Since the primitive organisation, the sex, age, 

 temperament, education, climate, form of govern- 

 ment, religion, prejudices, superstitions, &c, ex- 

 ercise the most decided influence on our sensa- 

 tions, ideas, and judgments, and the determina- 

 tions of our will ; on the nature and force of our 

 propensities and talents, and consequently on the 

 primary motives of our actions, we must con- 

 fess that man, in many of the most important 

 moments of his life, is subjected to the power 

 of destiny, which sometimes fixes him to a rock, 

 like the inert shell-fish , and sometimes raises him 

 in the whirlwind, like the dust. 



It is not then surprising, that the sages of 

 Greece, the Indies, China, and Japan, that the 

 Christians of the east and west, and the Maho- 

 metans, should have mingled with their several 



