The Hand
Its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as Evincing Design

A study of the hand and its function in mankind's history, intended to demonstrate God's creative role.

Charles Bell (Author)

9781108000888, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 July 2009

336 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.9 cm, 0.43 kg

This 1833 study of the hand by Sir Charles Bell, a leading professor of surgery and anatomy, is one of the Bridgewater Treatises, which arose from the preoccupation of nineteenth-century Christians with interpreting God's creation in the light of contemporary scientific developments. Bell's treatise suggests that by looking in close detail at small subjects, God's role in creation can be clearly seen, whereas more general studies of the universe and the great natural cycles of astronomy and geology can obscure the intelligence behind their specific features. Bell stresses the importance of the hand in human history, the progress of society and the development of technology and design. He considers aspects of the mechanical systems of other animals, and sees their structure as a product of their function. This comparison serves to link humans with other creatures, but also defines their superiority through the sublimity of design.

1. Introductory chapter
2. Definition of the hand
3. The comparative anatomy of the hand
4. Of the muscles of the arm and hand
5. The substitution of other organs for the hand
6. The argument pursued from the comparative anatomy
7. Of sensibility and touch
8. Of the senses generally introductory to the sense of touch
9. Of the muscular sense
10. The hand not the source of ingenuity or contrivance, nor consequently of man's superiority.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]