Phrenology is the belief that you can tell what a person is
like by feeling their skull. I’ve always been sort of fascinated by the
idea. While kind of totally not true, phrenology introduced some important
ideas to the world, such as the concept that certain parts of the brain have
specific functions, and that thought and behavior originate in the brain.
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| That's more than palmistry has ever done for us. |
1) The pseudoscience of phrenology was invented in 1796 by a
German doctor named Franz
Joseph Gall. Gall believed that the brain was made up of an amalgam of different
organs, 27 to be exact. By feeling the surface of the cranium, phrenologists
could detect swellings, enlargements, shrinkages, and so forth in the brain
organs. The phrenologist might use a head caliper, or craniometer, to measure
the size of the head. Enlargement of a particular brain organ meant that the
person was likely to exhibit personality traits associated with that particular
region, such as combativeness, friendship or self-esteem.
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| Pictured here. |
2) The Scottish lawyer and writer George Combe was largely
responsible for the spread of phrenology’s popularity. It took off among the
middle and working classes, who felt well pleased with themselves to be
learning about science. Phrenology’s emphasis on inherent personality traits
allowed for the criticism of upper and aristocratic classes, which were seen as
having abused their own inherent personality traits. Knowledge of one’s
inherent traits was also viewed as an important tool for self-improvement and
social mobility. Even though it sounds silly to most people today, phrenology was
well-respected for at least the first half of the 19th century; many
important scholars and medical professionals supported it.
3) Mesmerist John Elliotson incorporated the principles of
phrenology into his mesmerism
treatments at his mesmerism hospital. Elliotson mesmerized people and then
poked at their heads in order to improve and reform their behavior. I’m sure
this worked wonderfully.
4) By the 1840s, the evidence against phrenology was too strong
to allow it to continue as a mainstream scientific discipline. Experiments
conducted by Jean Pierre
Flourens on pigeons established that damage to some parts of the brain didn’t
equate to loss of the functions or “faculties” associated with that part of the
brain, or that it caused impairments of an altogether different type. Later, in
the 20th century, phrenology experienced a brief, but small, revival,
and would go on to do things like contribute
to the Rwandan genocide.
5) Apparently people today do still believe in
phrenology, as the state of Michigan extended its six percent sales tax on personal services phrenology readings in 2007, so now if you want your head bumps interpreted in Michigan the state gets a cut. Also, there is this blog that has like
three posts on it. And finally, there’s this website from 1998 which
claims that “phrenology is a true science.”
6) Thomas Edison is said to have credited phrenology with revealing
his own “inventive talent” to him, which is funny, because I didn’t know there
was a “steal from Tesla” lump on the cranium.
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| I seriously don't see it there anywhere. |
