Phrenology
Encyclopedia
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain
Human brain
The human brain has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times larger than the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size. Estimates for the number of neurons in the human brain range from 80 to 120 billion...
is the organ of the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules. Following the materialist notions of mental functions originating in the brain, phrenologists believed that human conduct could best be understood in neurological rather than philosophical or religious terms. Developed by German physician Franz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
in 1796, the discipline was very popular in the 19th century, especially from about 1810 until 1840. The principal British centre for phrenology was Edinburgh, where the Edinburgh Phrenological Society
Edinburgh Phrenological Society
The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was established in 1820. Phrenology was then claimed to be a science but is now regarded as a pseudoscience. The central concepts of phrenology were that the brain is the organ of the mind and that human behaviour can be most usefully understood in neurological...
was established in 1820. In 1843, François Magendie
François Magendie
François Magendie was a French physiologist, considered a pioneer of experimental physiology. He is known for describing the foramen of Magendie. There is also a Magendie sign, a downward and inward rotation of the eye due to a lesion in the cerebellum...
referred to phrenology as "a pseudo-science of the present day."
Phrenological thinking was, however, influential in 19th-century psychiatry and modern neuroscience. Gall's assumption that character, thoughts, and emotions are located in the brain is considered an important historical advance toward neuropsychology.
Supposed mental faculties
Phrenologists believed that the mind has a set of different mental facultiesFaculty psychology
Faculty psychology views the mind as a collection of separate modules or faculties assigned to various mental tasks. The view is explicit in the psychological writings of the medieval scholastic Theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas....
, with each particular faculty represented in a different area of the brain. For example, the faculty of Philoprogenitiveness, from the Greek for 'love of offspring', was supposed to be located centrally at the back of the head (see illustration of the chart from Webster's Academic Dictionary).
These areas were said to be proportional to a person's propensities, and the importance of the given mental faculty. It was believed that the cranial bone conformed in order to accommodate the different sizes of these particular areas of the brain in different individuals, so that a person's capacity for a given personality trait could be determined simply by measuring the area of the skull that overlies the corresponding area of the brain.
As a type of theory of personality, phrenology can be considered to be an advance over the old medical theory of the four humors. Phrenology, which focuses on personality and character, should be distinguished from craniometry, which is the study of skull size, weight and shape, and physiognomy
Physiognomy
Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
, the study of facial features.
History
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physician Franz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
(1758–1828), who is considered the initiator of phrenology. Gall was one of the first researchers to consider the brain to be the source of all mental activity.
In 1809 Gall began writing his greatest work "The Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System in General, and of the Brain in Particular, with Observations upon the possibility of ascertaining the several Intellectual and Moral Dispositions of Man and Animal, by the configuration of their Heads. It was not published until 1819. In the introduction to this main work, Gall makes the following statement in regard to his doctrinal principles, which comprise the intellectual basis of phrenology:
- That moral and intellectual faculties are innate
- That their exercise or manifestation depends on organization
- That the brain is the organ of all the propensities, sentiments and faculties
- That the brain is composed of as many particular organs as there are propensities, sentiments and faculties which differ essentially from each other.
- That the form of the head or cranium represents the form of the brain, and thus reflects the relative development of the brain organs.
Through careful observation and extensive experimentation, Gall believed he had established a relationship between aspects of character, called faculties, to precise organs in the brain
Human brain
The human brain has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is over three times larger than the brain of a typical mammal with an equivalent body size. Estimates for the number of neurons in the human brain range from 80 to 120 billion...
. Gall's most important collaborator was Johann Spurzheim
Johann Spurzheim
Johann Gaspar Spurzheim was a German physician who became one of the chief proponents of phrenology created approximately in 1800 by Franz Joseph Gall...
(1776-1832), who disseminated phrenology successfully in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He popularized the term phrenology (from the Greek word "phrenos" meaning "brain": compare with the word "schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
").
Other significant phrenologists included the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
brothers George Combe
George Combe
George Combe , was a Scottish lawyer and writer on phrenology and education. In later years, he devoted himself to the promotion of phrenology. His major work was The Constitution of Man .-Early life:...
(1788–1858) and Andrew Combe
Andrew Combe
Andrew Combe , Scottish physician and phrenologist; was born in Edinburgh on the October 27, 1797, and was a younger brother of George Combe....
(1797–1847), who initiated the Phrenological Society of Edinburgh. This Edinburgh group included a number of extremely influential social reformers and intellectuals, including the publisher Robert Chambers, the astronomer John Pringle Nichol
John Pringle Nichol
John Pringle Nichol FRSE was a Scottish educator, astronomer and economist who did much to popularise astronomy in a manner that appealed to nineteenth century tastes.-Early life:...
, the evolutionary environmentalist Hewett Cottrell Watson and asylum reformer William A.F. Browne. George Combe was the author of some of the most popular works on phrenology and mental hygiene, e.g., The Constitution of Man (1828) and Elements of Phrenology.
The American brothers Lorenzo Niles Fowler (1811–1896) and Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler
Orson Squire Fowler was a phrenologist who popularized the octagon house in the middle of the nineteenth century....
(1809–1887) were leading phrenologists of their time. Orson, together with associates Samuel Wells
Samuel Wells
Samuel Wells was an American politician and the 25th Governor of Maine.He was born in Durham, New Hampshire on August 15, 1801. He studied at local school and later studied law. He had a successful career in law. He served as an associate justice of the Maine Supreme Court from 1847 to 1854. Wells...
and Nelson Sizer, ran the phrenological business and publishing house Fowlers & Wells in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Meanwhile, Lorenzo spent much of his life in England where he initiated the famous phrenological publishing house, L.N Fowler & Co., and gained considerable fame with his phrenology head (a china
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
head showing the phrenological faculties), which has become a symbol of the discipline.
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, phrenology as a psychology was taken seriously and permeated the literature and novels of the day. Many prominent public figures such as the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...
(a college classmate and initial partner of Orson Fowler) promoted phrenology actively as a source of psychological insight and self-knowledge. Thousands of people consulted phrenologists for advice in various matters, such as hiring personnel or finding suitable marriage partners. As such, phrenology as a brain science waned but developed into the popular psychology of the 19th century and functioned in approximately the same way as psychoanalysis permeated social thought and relationships a century later. Beginning during the 1840s, phrenology in North America became part of a counter-culture movement evident in the appearance of new dress styles, communes, mesmerism, and a revival of herbal remedies. Orson Fowler himself was known for his octogonal house.
Throughout, however, phrenology was rejected by mainstream academia, and was for instance excluded from the British Association for the Advancement of Science
British Association for the Advancement of Science
frame|right|"The BA" logoThe British Association for the Advancement of Science or the British Science Association, formerly known as the BA, is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating interaction between...
. The popularity of phrenology fluctuated during the 19th century, with some researchers comparing the field to astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, chiromancy
Chiromancy
Palmistry or chiromancy , is the art of characterization and foretelling the future through the study of the palm, also known as palm reading, or chirology. The practice is found all over the world, with numerous cultural variations...
, or merely a fairground attraction, while others wrote serious scientific articles on the subject. The last phrenology book in English to receive serious consideration by mainstream science was The Brain and Its Physiology (1846) by Daniel Noble, but his friend, William Carpenter, wrote a lengthy review article that initiated his realization that phrenology could not be considered a serious science, and his later books reflect his acceptance of British psycho-physiology.
Phrenology was also very popular in the United States, where automatic devices for phrenological analysis were devised. One such Automatic Electric Phrenometer is displayed in the Collection of Questionable Medical Devices in the Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota
The Science Museum of Minnesota is an American museum focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science and mathematics education. Founded in 1907 and located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the 501 nonprofit institution is staffed by over 500 employees and over 1,600 volunteers...
in Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
.
During the early 20th century, a revival of interest in phrenology occurred on the fringe, partly because of studies of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
and anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
(as pursued by Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso
Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature...
). The most famous British phrenologist of the 20th century was the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
psychiatrist Bernard Hollander
Bernard Hollander
Bernard Hollander was a London psychiatrist and one of the main proponents of the new interest in phrenology in the early 20th century.-Life and work:...
(1864–1934). His main works, The Mental Function of the Brain (1901) and Scientific Phrenology (1902) are an appraisal of Gall's teachings. Hollander introduced a quantitative approach to the phrenological diagnosis, defining a method for measuring the skull, and comparing the measurements with statistical averages.
In Belgium, Paul Bouts
Paul Bouts
Paul Bouts was a Belgian phrenologist and pedagogue. Born in the province of Limburg, he was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1926.In the pedagogic environment of the Normal School of Tienen, Belgium, where he taught from 1924, he specialised in characterological studies and devised a new method...
(1900–1999) began studying phrenology from a pedagogical background, using the phrenological analysis to define an individual pedagogy
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
. Combining phrenology with typology
Personality type
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...
and graphology
Graphology
Graphology is the pseudoscientific study and analysis of handwriting, especially in relation to human psychology. In the medical field, it can be used to refer to the study of handwriting as an aid in diagnosis and tracking of diseases of the brain and nervous system...
, he coined a global approach known as psychognomy
Psychognomy
Psychognomy is a theory to describe human character defined by the twentieth-century teacher Belgian Paul Bouts.It is based on phrenology and incorporates elements of typology and graphology....
.
Bouts, a Roman Catholic priest, became the main promoter of renewed 20th-century interest in phrenology and psychognomy in Belgium. He was also active in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where he founded institutes for characterology. His works Psychognomie and Les Grandioses Destinées individuelle et humaine dans la lumière de la Caractérologie et de l'Evolution cérébro-cranienne are considered standard works in the field. In the latter work, which examines the subject of paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology
Paleoanthropology, which combines the disciplines of paleontology and physical anthropology, is the study of ancient humans as found in fossil hominid evidence such as petrifacted bones and footprints.-19th century:...
, Bouts developed a teleological
Teleology
A teleology is any philosophical account which holds that final causes exist in nature, meaning that design and purpose analogous to that found in human actions are inherent also in the rest of nature. The word comes from the Greek τέλος, telos; root: τελε-, "end, purpose...
and orthogenetical
Orthogenesis
Orthogenesis, orthogenetic evolution, progressive evolution or autogenesis, is the hypothesis that life has an innate tendency to evolve in a unilinear fashion due to some internal or external "driving force". The hypothesis is based on essentialism and cosmic teleology and proposes an intrinsic...
view on a perfecting evolution, from the paleo-encephalical skull shapes of prehistoric man
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, which he considered still prevalent in criminals and savages, towards a higher form of mankind, thus perpetuating phrenology's problematic racializing of the human frame.
Bouts died on March 7, 1999, after which his work has been continued by the Dutch foundation PPP (Per Pulchritudinem in Pulchritudine), operated by Anette Müller, one of Bouts' students.
During the 1930s, Belgian colonial authorities in Rwanda used phrenology to explain the so-called superiority of Tutsi
Tutsi
The Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
s over Hutu
Hutu
The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
s.
Empirical refutation induced most scientists to abandon phrenology as a science by the early 20th century. For example, various cases were observed of clearly aggressive people displaying a well-developed "benevolent organ
Benevolence (Phrenology)
Benevolence is a faculty in the discredited theory of Phrenology.Interaction with other faculties:*Negative Benevolence + positive Firmness: authoritarian personality without consideration and humanity....
", findings that contradicted the logic of the discipline. With advances in the studies of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, many scientists became skeptical of the claim that human character can be determined by simple, external measures.
On Monday, October 1, 2007 the State of Michigan included phrenology in a list of personal services subject to sales tax.
Method
Phrenology was a complex process that involved feeling the bumps in the skull to determine an individual's psychological attributes. Franz Joseph GallFranz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
first believed that the brain was made up of 27 individual 'organs' that created one's personality, with the first 19 of these 'organs' believed to exist in other animal species. Phrenologists would run their fingertips and palms over the skulls of their patients to feel for enlargements or indentations. The phrenologist would usually take measurements of the overall head size using a caliper
Caliper
A caliper is a device used to measure the distance between two opposing sides of an object. A caliper can be as simple as a compass with inward or outward-facing points...
. With this information, the phrenologist would assess the character and temperament of the patient and address each of the 27 "brain organs". This type of analysis was used to predict the kinds of relationships and behaviors to which the patient was prone. In its heyday during the 1820s-1840s, phrenology was often used to predict a child's future life, to assess prospective marriage partners and to provide background checks for job applicants.
Gall's list of the "brain organs" was lengthy and specific, as he believed that each bump or indentation in a patient's skull corresponded to his "brain map". An enlarged bump meant that the patient utilized that particular "organ
Organ (anatomy)
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in structural unit to serve a common function. Usually there is a main tissue and sporadic tissues . The main tissue is the one that is unique for the specific organ. For example, main tissue in the heart is the myocardium, while sporadic are...
" extensively. The 27 areas were varied in function, from sense of color, to the likelihood of religiosity, to the potential to commit murder. Each of the 27 "brain organs" was located in a specific area of the skull. As a phrenologist felt the skull, he could refer to a numbered diagram showing where each functional area was believed to be located.
Pseudoscience
Phrenology has long been dismissed as a pseudosciencePseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
because of neurological advances. During the discipline's heyday, phrenologists including Gall
Franz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
committed many errors. In his book The Beginner's Guide to Scientific Method Stephen S. Carey explains that pseudoscience can be defined as "fallacious applications of the scientific method
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
" by today's standards.
Phrenologists made dubious inferences between bumps in people's skulls and their personalities, claiming that the bumps were the determinant of personality. Some of the more valid assumptions of phrenology (e.g., that mental processes can be localized in the brain) remain in modern neuroimaging techniques and modularity of mind
Modularity of mind
Modularity of mind is the notion that a mind may, at least in part, be composed of separate innate structures which have established evolutionarily developed functional purposes...
theory. According to Karl Popper
Karl Popper
Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH FRS FBA was an Austro-British philosopher and a professor at the London School of Economics...
, phrenology is viewed as pseudoscience since it neither makes risky predictions, nor provides the chance for others to prove if it is a real theory. Phrenology explains their diagnostic examinee broadly. Unlike science, it does not have an exact answer to support their predictions. Also, through advancements in modern medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, scientists have universally concluded that feeling conformations of the outer skull is not an accurate predictor of behavior.
In popular culture
- In Bram StokerBram StokerAbraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, several characters make phrenological observations in describing other characters, as does Sir Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. - Charlotte BrontëCharlotte BrontëCharlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
, as well as her sister Anne BrontëAnne BrontëAnne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
, display a belief in phrenology in their works. - The comedy-musical play Heid by Forbes MassonForbes MassonForbes Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is best known for his classical theatre roles and comedy partnership with Alan Cumming...
alluded to the phrenology work of George CombeGeorge CombeGeorge Combe , was a Scottish lawyer and writer on phrenology and education. In later years, he devoted himself to the promotion of phrenology. His major work was The Constitution of Man .-Early life:...
, citing the pseudoscience's influence on a young Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
as an inspiration for writers. - Several literary critics have noted the influence of phrenology (and physiognomyPhysiognomyPhysiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
) in Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's fiction. - In the novel The War of the End of the WorldThe War of the End of the WorldThe War of the End of the World is a 1981 novel written by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. It is a novelization of the War of Canudos conflict in late 19th-century Brazil.-Plot summary:...
from Latin American writer Mario Vargas LlosaMario Vargas LlosaJorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
, one of the main characters is Galileo Gall, a phrenologist who had adopted his new name because of Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
and Franz Joseph GallFranz Joseph GallFranz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
, founder of the science of phrenology. - In the novel Moby-DickMoby-DickMoby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
by Herman Melville many references are made to phrenology and the narrator identifies himself as an amateur phrenologist. - In the DiscworldDiscworldDiscworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series of novels by Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
, the practice of retrophrenology is mentioned. This is where people pay a retrophrenologist to hit them on the head with hammers of various sizes in order to change the shape of their skull, thus retrospectively giving them the mental attributes they desire. There is an element of pseudoscience to this even in the Discworld universe.
See also
- AnthropometryAnthropometryAnthropometry refers to the measurement of the human individual...
- CharacterologyCharacterologyCharacterology is a method of character reading that attempted to combine revised physiognomy, reconstructed phrenology and amplified pathognomy, with ethnology, sociology and anthropology. Developed by L...
- PathognomyPathognomyPathognomy is the study of passions and emotions. It refers to the expression of emotions indicated by the voice, gestures and facial expression. While physiognomy is used to predict the overall, long-term character of an individual, pathognomy is used to ascertain clues about one's current character...
- Personology
- PhysiognomyPhysiognomyPhysiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
- PsychognomyPsychognomyPsychognomy is a theory to describe human character defined by the twentieth-century teacher Belgian Paul Bouts.It is based on phrenology and incorporates elements of typology and graphology....
- localization of brain function
- Brodmann's areas
- neuro-imaging
- faculty psychologyFaculty psychologyFaculty psychology views the mind as a collection of separate modules or faculties assigned to various mental tasks. The view is explicit in the psychological writings of the medieval scholastic Theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas....
External links
- The History of Phrenology on the Web by John van Wyhe, PhD.
- Phrenology: an Overview includes The History of Phrenology by John van Wyhe, PhD.
- The Phrenology Pages, a Belgian site advocating phrenology.
- Phrenology Today! Russian portal, advocating phrenology. Articles on so-called modern phrenology.
- Examples of phrenological tools can be seen in The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S..
- Joseph Vimont: Traité de phrénologie humaine et comparée. (Paris, 1832-1835). Selected pages scanned from the original work. Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine.
- Jean-Claude Vimont: Phrénologie à Rouen, les moulages du musée Flaubert d'histoire de la médecine
- Phrenology: History of a Classic Pseudoscience - by Steven NovellaSteven NovellaSteven P. Novella is an American clinical neurologist, assistant professor and Director of General Neurology at Yale University School of Medicine...
MD - Historical Deadwood Newspaper accounts of C. R. Broadbent well known speaker on Phrenology and Physiology visit Deadwood SD 1878
- The Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll
- Who Named It? Franz Joseph Gall Biography of Franz Joseph Gall and his creation: Phrenology.
- Phrenology by George Burgess (1829-1905) George Burgess, Phrenologist in Bristol, England 1861-1901.
- History of the Phrenology Bust as developed by Spurzheim
- George Combe's Elements of Phrenology.
- Psychophysiognomy Today! Polish portal, advocating psychophysiognomy. Articles on modern psychophysiognomy and the current use of psychophysiognomy in the personal consultation CVonVideo
- Phrenology Tools of the Trade.
- Early accounts of Phrenology practice
- Brain and Mind (electronic magazine on Neuroscience) Modern Phrenology Offshoots of Phrenology: Crainiology and Anthropometry
- Florida State University College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Course material.