Phrenology is what? What does the science of phrenology study?

Modern science is a consequence of the rapid development of scientific thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. At that time, the scientific approach to many events was just beginning to take shape, and scientists were creating a lot of directions that were very popular, but later were deemed false. A similar story can be told by phrenology. This direction of science once won virtually the whole world, but lost its importance in connection with the development of psychology and neurophysiology. Although for these areas of science, phrenology still left several rational grains.

Phrenology is science or pseudoscience?

In many scientific sources, when referring to phrenology, different formulations are used. Some scientists confidently state that phrenology is a pseudoscience, but others consider it all the same a science that has brought a lot of discoveries that modern scientists use. Unity among the world community, unfortunately, no. Therefore, in our article we will talk about phrenology as a science. But keep in mind that at the present time it is not considered as an integral and confirmed theory.

Phrenology is the science of the structure of the skull and its relationship with the psychological characteristics of man. This theory was very popular in the nineteenth century and had followers around the world. In many countries, even at the beginning of the twentieth century, the basic provisions of phrenology were used in the scientific work of major scientists with a world-wide name.

Basic provisions of phrenology: briefly about the main

The basis of the scientific theory was the assumption that in the human brain each department is responsible for certain psychological functions. The more developed a particular department, the more noticeable it is on the skull. It was believed that the protuberances on the skull are peculiar to especially developed parts of the cerebral cortex, and the cavities indicate the underdevelopment of its specific sections.

Followers of phrenology believed that the psychological features of a person laid down at conception can not be changed under the influence of a social factor and upbringing. And long-term impact could have a certain impact on human physiology and psychology, but this can happen only after several generations. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, several basic provisions of phrenology were formulated, which became the main scientific postulates used by all the followers of science:

• The brain belongs to the organs of consciousness;
• The cortex consists of twenty-seven regions that function independently of each other;
• Separate areas of the brain have the ability to develop spontaneously, thereby increasing its total volume;
• The active development of individual parts increases their size;
• Measuring the human skull, you can accurately state the development and size of individual areas of the cerebral cortex;
• Based on the data of measurements, one can predict the behavior of a person and reveal his mental inclinations.

It was the above statements that became the basis for further development of phrenology.

Prerequisites for the emergence of science

At the end of the eighteenth century, physiognomy was very popular in Europe. According to its fundamentals, all the traits of a person's character can be identified by the structure of his face. Many scientists seriously engaged in the development of this science and provided a large evidence base, which confirms its foundations. Physiognomy was fond of in the higher circles and considered it a new trend, revealing the secrets of human psychology. Modern historians believe that this was just a people's need for a science that explains the features of psychology. The fact is that at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries people were increasingly moving away from religious dogmas and showed great interest in studying man as a person. It is not surprising that the depths of the human subconscious seemed to be something unexplored in terms of science.

Also during this period of time, the American psychiatrist put forward the theory that all criminals who committed the most terrible atrocities experienced some insanity in connection with the disruption of the work of certain parts of the brain. According to this theory, at the moment of the crime those parts of the brain that previously worked autonomously begin to "mix" with each other and cause an attack leading to crime.

All of the above facts became the basis on which and based phrenology. This scientific trend, which came out of physiognomy, began to develop actively. Later it gave rise to a lot of new trends and revolutionary scientific ideas. The founder of phrenology practically up to the end of his life defended his theory. After his death, he bequeathed his skull to the scientific institute as the last and most weighty proof of the scientific version, which he propagandized in all countries of the world.

Who created the doctrine of phrenology?

Very often a new science arises as the joint work of several scientists of minds. But in our case everything happened absolutely differently. The founder of phrenology is the Austrian scientist Franz Gall. He was an outstanding physician and anatomist, and until the age of thirty-eight he collected information in order to substantiate his theory. The first time he delivered lectures in Vienna, later on, Gall often gave lectures on phrenology around the world and published many scientific works on this topic.

Franz Gall: short biography

A famous scientist was born in Vienna in the middle of the eighteenth century. Many contemporaries considered him to be a brilliant doctor, he had his clientele and earned excellent money. But most of all Gall was interested in the anatomy and features of the human psyche, reflected in the structure of the skull.

In parallel with his medical practice, he actively studied the structure of skulls of people and animals. In a few years, Gall collected a real collection of skulls and their casts, which allowed him to create some scientific basis for phrenology.

The popularity of his lectures in Vienna made the Austrian government anxious. After all, phrenology categorically rejected the divine spark, on which the talent and character of a person depends. This contradicted all church dogmas, so the scientist was expelled from Austria. But this did not force Gall to abandon his scientific theory, he traveled a lot of European countries and everywhere he was enthusiastically received by scientists. He stayed the longest in France. During this time, Gall published four volumes of scientific works on phrenology. The scientist died in 1828 from a hemorrhage to the brain.

Development of phrenology

As Gall claimed, he first thought about the relationship between brain development and skull structure in school days. Then he noticed that his peers, who have big eyes , have a good memory. Later he analyzed several hundred people and distributed human talents and characteristics to different parts of the brain. Initially, Gall selected twenty-seven departments of the brain and even drew a map of them, later the number increased to thirty-nine.

Helping Gallu in the work of a young doctor Shpurtsgeym, who became a co-author of the first scientific works of the scientist. Many doctors accused Gall of fraud, because in his lectures he cited those examples that confirmed his theory. Other facts the scientist simply did not notice and considered them insignificant. Although over the years they have accumulated a lot.

Despite opponents, phrenology has gained popularity in the UK, the US and Europe. He had numerous followers who continued his scientific work until the middle of the last century.

Sunset Phrenology

Scientists believe that until the thirties of the last century, phrenology was actively substantiated from the point of view of science. Everyone considered it their duty to contribute to its development, so in this period many books and scientific works on phrenology were published.

In subsequent years, scientists massively popularized science, trying to attract as many supporters as possible. An example of phrenology, which studies the brain, inspired many scientists to work on this topic. But some of them came to completely different results and began to come out with exposing science, giving new arguments, facts and theories. Phrenology constantly intersected with anthropology, psychology, forensic psychiatry and physiology. Eventually, pseudoscience became the impetus for the development of all the listed scientific branches that buried almost all of Gall's work.

The role of phrenology in modern criminalistics

It is worth noting that phrenology in forensic science for the first time tried to substantiate the criminal behavior and stated the need to study the nature of the crime as a whole. Modern scientists and geneticists have taken as a basis the theory put forward by phrenologists, that criminal behavior is closely interconnected with defects in the work of the brain. And it was the phrenologists who first created a classification of the behavior of criminals. Almost all of them believed that people who are going to commit crimes are sick. In addition, modern psychiatrists confirmed that at the moment of conception, people have different propensities to violence and aggression.

All these theories were first put forward by Halle and in those days were regarded as fantastic.

Influence of phrenology on the formation of psychology as a science

Phrenology in psychology has become the generator of many revolutionary ideas. Many scientists believe that it did not cease to exist, but simply transformed into a new science. In fact, this is not so, but it was the theory of phrenology that had an incredibly powerful influence on the development of psychology.

For the first time, a version was put forward that psychological deformations of the individual can have physiological causes. And thanks to this, they can be cured. Also the subject of studying phrenology was the consciousness that in the nineteenth century it was difficult to explain. Most of the famous American psychiatrists of the twentieth century were once phrenologists. This fact speaks volumes.

The jurisprudence of Europe: a trace of phrenology

Pseudoscience has been able to become the impetus for the revision of many legislative acts in European countries. For example, with respect to mentally ill criminals, such penalties have ceased to be accepted, as for ordinary people. They began to be sent to special institutions for treatment. Thanks to phrenologists, a social trend emerged, advocating the abolition of the death penalty in European countries and the United States.

In parallel, in many countries, the government has thought about adopting a number of laws regulating the rights of prisoners and introducing rules for the management of correctional facilities.

Conclusion

Perhaps phrenology has not become a science, but it has managed to completely turn the world around and create the prerequisites for the development of many new scientific currents, which later were separated into an independent science. It is not known what the scientific community would be now if not for the curious mind of Franz Gall, who was not afraid to become the founder of an absolutely revolutionary and unique scientific trend.