Phrenology

Specialty

Anatomy or system affected: Brain, skull

Definition: A discredited field that theorizes well-developed areas of the cerebral cortex of the brain, each with its own functional properties, corresponded to bumps on the skull. Likewise, a depression on the skull would indicate an underdeveloped faculty.

Key term:

theory of localization: a theory that stated the brain consisted of many specific areas that took on their own functional properties

Science and Profession

Phrenology was championed by Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828), an Austrian physician and anatomist, who developed the theory that the size of cortical regions of the brain was correlated with specific talents such as inquisitiveness, destructiveness, secretiveness, and friendship. In addition, enhanced brain areas were reflected as enlarged bumps on the skull directly above it. In all, Gall believed he had located twenty-seven faculties that were unique to humans and nineteen that were found on some nonhuman animals. These special talents were referred to by Gall as “organs.” The extra organs that humans possessed, according to Gall, were areas that corresponded to things such as wisdom, passion, and the sense of satire. Besides paying attention to the bumps on the cranium, the recesses were also important since they reflected the underdevelopment of specific talents.

Prior to the nineteenth century, there were was some discussion regarding how the brain was organized as a collection of many different neuroanatomical structures, each with their own functional properties. Gall is credited with developing this notion into the theory of localization. The theory of localization was proposed as an alternative to the theory of equipotentiality which held the belief that mental abilities depended on the whole brain rather than just a single isolated area. Phrenology benefited from the popularity of localization theory even though there was little empirical evidence to support its claims.

Another physician who popularized phrenology was Johann Spurzheim (1776–1832), a devoted follower and colleague of Frances Gall. They began to work together in 1804 in Vienna and shortly thereafter began to lecture extensively around the world. Spurzheim not only helped espouse Gall's ideas about phrenology, he also developed his own ideas and proposed several additional organs and distinguished between cognitive and emotional faculties. Eventually, after a series of lecture tours, which included a trip to the United States, Spurzheim became the leading proponent of phrenology. While in the United States, some of his lectures were directed towards physicians as a means to discuss possible clinical applications of phrenology. Yet, before these discussions could gain traction, Spurzheim died from typhoid fever in his mid-fifties. His skull, at Spurzheim's request, was preserved and studied. It currently resides in the Warren Museum at Harvard Medical School.

In the United States, during the 1820s, phrenology gained acceptance from several professional groups as well as garnered interest from the general public. The Central Phrenological Society was formed in Philadelphia in 1822. Two years later the first American textbook on phrenology Elements of Phrenology was published. An American by the name of George Combe (1788–1858) wrote the Constitution of Man in 1827, which sold more than 100,000 copies. It has been reported that this book was one of the most popular books, in English, during this era. In addition, the psychograph was developed as a type of phrenology machine. It systematically measured thirty-two different points on the cranium and would list out which traits were more or less present on a five-point scale. In 1842 brothers O. S. and L. N. Fowler started the Phrenological Cabinet; the company offered phrenological examinations and skull casts. Phrenology had a large following at its peak; even poet Walt Whitman visited the Fowlers for an examination (the Fowlers also published the first version of Leaves of Grass). The brothers also printed the American Phrenological Journal and Miscellany. The Psychograph Company operated from 1929–1937, and the psychograph machine could be found in department stores or theaters for the amusement of the general public.

Perspective and Prospects

While phrenology gained a meteoric rise in popularity, its collapse and eventual fall into disrepute came just as quickly. Perhaps the most ardent opponent against phrenology was Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens (1794–1867), a French physiologist, who held a strong belief in experimental laboratory methods that were conducted mostly on animals (e.g., hens, ducks, frogs) to discredit not only phrenology, but the larger theory of localization in general. Flourens's book, Phrenology Examined, was his strongest attempt to show that bumps on the skull were in no way related to various skills. A fellow French physiologist, Francois Magendie, also offered a criticism of phrenology, actually labeling it a pseudoscience as early as 1843. Today, phrenology is viewed as an amusing afterthought by the neuroscientific community.

For Further Information:

Finger, Stanley. Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Exploration into Brain Function. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994.

Kolb, Bryan, and Ian Q. Whishaw. Fundamentals of Human Neuropsychology. 6th ed. New York: Worth, 2009.

Horton, Arthur MacNeill, Jr., and Danny Wedding. The Neuropsychology Handbook. 3rd ed. New York: Springer, 2008.

Lambert, Kelly G., and Craig H. Kinsley. Clinical Neuroscience: Psychopathology and the Brain. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011.

Leek, Sybil. Phrenology. New York: Collier-Macmillan, 1970.

Staum, Martin S. Labeling People; French Scholars on Society, Race, and Empire 1815–1848. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2003. Print.

Stern, Madeleine B. "Fowler, Lorenzo Niles (1811–1896) and Orson Squire (1809–1887)." Walt Whitman Archive. Walt Whitman Archive, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Zillmer, Eric A., Mary V. Spiers, and William C. Culbertson. Principles of Neuropsychology. 2nd ed. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008.