(1822-)
The modern doctrine of heredity regards man less as an individual than
as a link in a series, involuntarily inheriting and transmitting a
number of peculiarities, physical and mental. The general acceptance
of this doctrine would necessitate a modification of popular ethical
conceptions, and consequently of social conditions. Except Darwin,
probably no one has done so much to place the doctrine on a scientific
basis as Francis Galton, whose brilliant researches have sought to
establish the hereditary nature of psychical as well as physical
qualities.
Mr. Galton first took up the subject of the transmissibility of
intellectual gifts in his 'Hereditary Genius' (1869). An examination
of the relationships of the judges of England for a period of two
hundred years, of the statesmen of the time of George III., of the
premiers of the last one hundred years, and of a certain selection of
divines and modern scholars, together with the kindred of the most
illustrious commanders, men of letters and science, poets, painters,
and musicians of all times and nations, resulted in his conclusion
that man's mental abilities are derived by inheritance under exactly
the same limitations as are the forms and features of the whole
organic world. Mr. Galton argued that, as it is practicable to produce
a highly gifted race of men by judicious marriages during several
consecutive generations, the State ought to encourage by dowries and
other artificial means such marriages as make for the elevation of the
race.
Having set forth the hereditary nature of general intellectual
ability, he attempts to discover what particular qualities commonly
combine to form genius, and whether they also are transmissible.
'English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture' (1874) was a
summary of the results obtained from inquiries addressed to the most
eminent scientific men of England, respecting the circumstances of
heredity and environment which might have been influential in
directing them toward their careers. One hundred and eighty persons
were questioned. From the replies it appeared that in the order of
their prevalence, the chief qualities that commonly unite to form
scientific genius are energy both of body and mind; good health; great
independence of character; tenacity of purpose; practical business
habits; and strong innate tastes for science generally, or for some
branch of it. The replies indicated the hereditary character of the
qualities in question, showing incidentally that in the matter of
heredity the influence of the father is greater than that of the
mother. It would have been interesting to have had the results of
similar inquiries in the case of other classes of eminent
persons,--statesmen, lawyers, poets, divines, etc. However, it is
problematical whether other classes would have entered so heartily
into the spirit of the inquiry, and given such full and frank replies.
Large variation in individuals from their parents is, he argues, not
only not incompatible with the strict doctrine of heredity, but is a
consequence of it wherever the breed is impure. Likewise, abnormal
attributes of individual parents are less transmissible than the
general characteristics of the family. Both these influences operate
to deprive the science of heredity of the certainty of prediction in
individual cases. The latter influence--_i. e._, the law of
reversion--is made the subject of a separate inquiry in the volume
entitled 'Natural Inheritance' (1889).
In 'Inquiries into the Human Faculty and its Development' (1883), he
described a method of accurately measuring mental processes, such as
sensation, volition, the formation of elementary judgments, and the
estimation of numbers; suggested composite photography as a means of
studying the physiognomy of criminal and other classes; treated the
subject of heredity in crime; and discussed the mental process of
visualizing.
'Finger Prints' (1892) is a study from the point of view of heredity
of the patterns observed in the skin of finger-tips. These patterns
are not only hereditary, but also furnish a certain means of
identification--an idea improved in Mark Twain's story of 'Pudd'nhead
Wilson.'
Mr. Galton is himself an example of the heredity of genius, being a
grandson of Erasmus Darwin, the author of 'Zoonomia,' and a cousin of
Charles Darwin. Born near Birmingham in 1822, he studied some time at
Birmingham Hospital and at King's College, London, with the intention
of entering the medical profession; but abandoned this design, and was
graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1844. He soon after made
two journeys of exploration in Africa, the latter of which is
described in his 'Narrative of an Explorer in South Africa' (1853). An
indirect result of these journeys was 'The Art of Travel; or Shifts
and Contrivances in Wild Countries' (1855).
'Meteorographica' (1863) is noteworthy as the first attempt ever made
to represent in charts on a large scale the progress of the weather,
and on account of the theory of anti-cyclones which Mr. Galton
advances in it.
Although strictly scientific in aim and method, Mr. Galton's writings,
particularly those on heredity, appeal to all classes of readers and
possess a distinct literary value. One may admire in them simplicity
and purity of diction, animation of style, fertility in the
construction of theory, resourcefulness in the search for proof, and a
fine enthusiasm for the subject under consideration.