Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development

Francis Galton

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Title: Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development
Author: Francis Galton
Release Date: March 13, 2004 [eBook #11562]
Language: English
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***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INQUIRIES INTO HUMAN FACULTY AND ITS DEVELOPMENT***
E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Robert Prince,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading TeamINQUIRIES into
HUMAN FACULTY
AND ITS
DEVELOPMENT
by Francis GALTON
F.R.S.
First issue of this Edition 1907
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
After some years had passed subsequent to the publication of this book in 1883, its
publishers, Messrs. Macmillan, informed me that the demand for it just, but only
just warranted a revised issue. I shrank from the great trouble of bringing it up to
date because it, or rather many of my memoirs out of which it was built up, had
become starting-points for elaborate investigations both in England and in America,
to which it would be difficult and very laborious to do justice in a brief compass. So
the question of a Second Edition was then entirely dropped. Since that time thebook has by no means ceased to live, for it continues to be quoted from and sought
for, but is obtainable only with difficulty, and at much more than its original cost, at
sales of second-hand books. Moreover, it became the starting point of that recent
movement in favour of National Eugenics (see note p. 24 in first edition) which is
recognised by the University of London, and has its home in University College.
Having received a proposal to republish the book in its present convenient and
inexpensive form, I gladly accepted it, having first sought and received an obliging
assurance from Messrs. Macmillan that they would waive all their claims to the
contrary in my favour.
The following small changes are made in this edition. The illustrations are for the
most part reduced in size to suit the smaller form of the volume, the lettering of the
composites is rearranged, and the coloured illustration is reproduced as closely as
circumstances permit. Two chapters are omitted, on "Theocratic Intervention" and
on the "Objective Efficacy of Prayer." The earlier part of the latter was too much
abbreviated from the original memoir in the Fortnightly Review, 1872, and gives, as
I now perceive, a somewhat inexact impression of its object, which was to
investigate certain views then thought orthodox, but which are growing obsolete. I
could not reinsert these omissions now with advantage, unless considerable
additions were made to the references, thus giving more appearance of personal
controversy to the memoirs than is desirable. After all, the omission of these two
chapters, in which I find nothing to recant, improves, as I am told, the general
balance of the book.
FRANCIS GALTON.
LIST OF WORKS.
The Teletype: a printing Electric Telegraph, 1850;
The Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa, 1853,
in "Minerva Library of Famous Books," 1889;
Notes on Modern Geography (Cambridge Essays, 1855, etc.);
Arts of Campaigning: an Inaugural Lecture delivered at Aldershot, 1855;
The Art of Travel, or Shifts and Contrivances available in Wild Countries,
1855, 1856, 1860 (1859);
fourth edition, recast and enlarged, 1867, 1872;Vacation Tourists and Notes on Travel, 1861, 1862, 1864;
Meteorographica, or Methods of Mapping the Weather, 1863;
Hereditary Genius: an Enquiry into its Laws and Consequences, 1869;
English Men of Science: their Nature and Nurture, 1874;
Address to the Anthropological Departments of the British Association
(Plymouth, 1877);
Generic Images: with Autotype Illustrations
(from the Proceedings of the Royal Institution), 1879;
Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development, 1883;
Record of Family Faculties, 1884; Natural Inheritance, 1889;
Finger-Prints, 1892;
Decipherments of Blurred Finger-Prints
(supplementary chapters to former work), 1893;
Finger-Print Directories, 1895;
Introduction to Life of W. Cotton Oswell, 1900;
Index to Achievements of Near Kinsfolk
of some of the Fellows of the Royal Society, 1904;
Eugenics: its Definition, Scope, and Aims
(Sociological Society Papers, vols. I. and II.), 1905;
Noteworthy Families (Modern Science);
And many papers in the Proceedings of the Royal Society,
Journals of the Geographical Society and the Anthropological Institute,
the Reports of the British Association, the Philosophical Magazine,
and Nature.
Galton also edited:
Hints to Travellers, 1878;
Life-History Album (British Medical Association), 1884,
second edition, 1902;
Biometrika (edited in consultation with F.G. and W.F.R. Weldon), 1901,
etc.;
and under his direction was designed a
Descriptive List of Anthropometric Apparatus, etc., 1887.
LIST OF MEMOIRS.
The following Memoirs by the author have been freely made use of in the following pages:--
1863: The First Steps towards the Domestication of Animals
(Journal of Ethnological Society);
1871: Gregariousness in Cattle and in Men
(Macmillan's Magazine);
1872: Statistical Inquiries into the Efficacy of Prayer
(Fortnightly Review);
1873: Relative Supplies from Town and Country Families
to the Population of Future Generations (Journal of Statistical Society);
Hereditary Improvement (Fraser's Magazine);
Africa for the Chinese (Times, June 6);
1875: Statistics by Intercomparison (Philosophical Magazine);
Twins, as a Criterion of the Relative Power of Nature and Nurture
(Fraser's Magazine, and
Journal of Anthropological Institute);
1876: Whistles for Determining the Upper Limits of Audible Sound
(S. Kensington Conferences, in connection with the
Loan Exhibition of Scientific Instruments, p. 61);
1877: Presidential Address to the Anthropological Department
of the British Association at Plymouth
(Report of British Association);
1878: Composite Portraits (Nature, May 23, and
Journal of Anthropological Institute);
1879: Psychometric Experiments (Nineteenth Century,
and Brain, part vi.);
Generic Images (Nineteenth Century; Proceedings of
Royal Institution, with plates);
Geometric Mean in Vital and Social Statistics (Proceedings
of Royal Society);
1880: Visualised Numerals (Nature, Jan. 15 and March 25, and
Journal of Anthropological Institute);
Mental Imagery (Fortnightly Review; Mind);
1881: Visions of Sane Persons (Fortnightly Review, and
Proceedings of Royal Institution);
Composite Portraiture (Journal of Photographical Society
of Great Britain, June 24);
1882: Physiognomy of Phthisis (Guy's Hospital Reports, vol. xxv.);
Photographic Chronicles from Childhood to Age (Fortnightly Review);
The Anthropometric Laboratory (Fortnightly Review);
1883: Some Apparatus for Testing the Delicacy of the Muscular
and other Senses (Journal of Anthropological Institute/pre>,
1883, etc.).
Memoirs in Eugenics.
1901: Huxley Lecture, Anthropological Institute (Nature, Nov. 1901);
Smithsonian Report for 1901 (Washington, p. 523);
1904: Eugenics, its Definition, Scope and Aims
(Sociological Paper, vol. i., Sociological Institute);
1905: Restrictions in Marriage, Studies in National Eugenics,
Eugenics as a Factor in Religion (Sociological Papers, vol. ii.);
1907: Herbert Spencer Lecture, University of Oxford,
on Probability the Foundation of Eugenics.
The following books by the author have been referred or alluded toin the following pages:--
1853: Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South-Western Africa
(Murray);
1854: Art of Travel (several subsequent editions,
the last in 1872, Murray);
1869: Hereditary Genius, its Laws and Consequences
(Macmillan);
1874: English Men of Science, their Nature and their Nurture
(Macmillan).
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
INTRODUCTION
Origin and object of book.
VARIETY OF HUMAN NATURE
Many varieties may each be good of its kind; advantage of variety;
some peculiarities are, however, harmful.
FEATURES
Large number of elements in the human expression; of touches in a
portrait; difficulty of measuring the separate features; or of selecting
typical individuals; the typical English face; its change at different
historical periods; colour of hair of modern English; caricatures.
PORTRAITURE
(See Appendix for three Memoirs describing successive stages of the
method).--Object and principle of the process; description of the plate--
composites of medals; of family portraits; of the two sexes and ofvarious ages; of Royal Engineers; the latter gives a clue to one
direction in which the English race might be improved; of criminals; of
the consumptive; ethnological application of the process.
BODILY QUALITIES
Anthropometric Committee; statistical anomalies in stature as
dependent on age; town and rural population; athletic feats now and