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Physiognomy Navigator
Phrenology Examples - 1
Phrenology is a spurious method for assessing aspects of character and personality from the physical appearances of certain areas of the cranium. Like physiognomy in general, there was a time when the issues of phrenology were presented as empirical or scientific questions, but as the preposterous claims of practitioners became more obviously bogus, this field was classified with the pseudo-sciences by the end of the 19th century. In the 20th century, these topics have increasingly been associated with the mysterious or occult literature, and have acquired the stigma of this association. Perhaps this shift is an aspect of continuing to market books and other products covering this material.
This page illustrates two examples from the phrenology literature. Each area marked on the heads illustrated below is associated with certain personal characteristics. Inspection of the two sets of labels shows that there is no agreement about the locations, numbers, or shapes of the areas that are claimed to be of such importance for understanding personal characteristics. No consensus on such matters was achieved by the phrenologists, partly because there was no factual basis for reaching agreement. Likewise, there was no agreement on what the various areas meant or how to assess each area.
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| From: Gustav Scheve. Katechismus der Phrenologie. Zeipzig: Verlagsbuchhandlung von F. F. Weber, 1896. |
In the example from Lehmann below, each numbered area is relevant to a personal characteristic. For example, area 20 is related to how confident or imbued with faith one is. If area 20 is enlarged, the person is confident, but if it is lacking, the person is critical, not confident. Area 27 has to do with the sense of humor. If it is enlarged, the person is easily drawn into laughter, but if it is lacking, the person is too serious to appreciate jokes.
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| From: Arthur R. H. Lehmann. Krankheit Begabung Verßprechen. Berlin: F. Gnadenfeld co., 1904. | |
A number of questions are raised by such associations, none of which the phrenologists answered successfully. Not the least of these problems is what mechanism or process could possibly mediate the association between the specific spots on the skull and their associated character. [Next Page]
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