The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals usually been viewed in its relationship to Darwin's conception of "natural selection" as the central mechanism of evolutionary development, which he probably grasped some time around September 1838. These notes have a tentative and fragmented quality, especially in Darwin's descriptions of conversation with his father (a successful doctor with a special interest in psychiatric problems) about recurring patterns of behaviour in successive generations of his patients' families. Darwin was anxious about the materialistic drift in his thinking – and of the disrepute which this could attract in early Victorian England – at the time, he was mentally preparing for marriage
The Constitution of Man The Constitution of Man 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 science 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 persons 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