Phrenology

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[[File:Phrenology.jpg|thumb|165px|right|A phrenology chart from 1883.]]
{{pseudoscience}}
'''Phrenology''' is the idea that it is possible to establish facts about a person's [[psychology]] or morality, such as [[criminal]] tendencies, by measuring the size and shape of their head and feeling for any bumps.

The concept emerged at the end of the 18<sup>th</sup> century, and became incredibly popular in [[Europe]] and [[America]] throughout the 19<sup>th</sup> century, although it was widely discredited by the early 20<sup>th</sup> century.  

Among the accomplishments attributed to phrenologists is the postmortem theft of composer Joseph Haydn's head.<ref>[http://www.jstor.org/stable/919530 The Skull of Joseph Haydn] by "R." (anonymous author) (1932) The ''Musical Times'' Vol. 73, No. 1076. (Oct. 1), pp. 942–943.</ref>

Phrenology was based on a theory that specific parts of the [[brain]] control certain things (which is true), but rather than mapping brain activity as things like nerve responses, muscle control or [[memory]], phrenological diagrams show parts of the brain governing character traits such as "acquisitiveness", "benevolence", "passion" and "mirth".

Although now dismissed as a [[pseudoscience]], phrenology was important historically in that it recognised the importance of the brain in thought and behaviour, a concept which had been proposed before but had largely been neglected. However, phrenology's findings were based on misconceptions, speculation and [[anecdote|anecdotal evidence]], placing it in pseudoscience territory. It can be seen as a transitional discipline before the more empirical sciences of [[neuroscience]] and [[psychology]] studied the brain and the mind more accurately.<ref>[[Philosophy of mind|Philosopher of mind]] and [[cognitive science|cognitive scientist]] Jerry Fodor drew some inspiration for his modularity thesis from Franz Joseph Gall, the first phrenologist. See Fodor (1983). [http://books.google.com/books?id=e7nrSeibJZYC&q=gall#v=snippet&q=gall&f=false ''The Modularity of Mind: An Essay on Faculty Psychology''.]</ref>

Despite being denounced by the mainstream scientific community, phrenological ideas have been used sometimes during the 20<sup>th</sup> century, particularly by some [[racialism|racial theories]], which (wrongly) argue that differences in some races' skull sizes and shapes indicate low [[morality]] and [[intelligence]].

Despite its scientific pretenses, the idea of phrenology is remarkably similar to [[palmistry]], a concept more associated with [[mysticism]].

The 1949 Bugs Bunny cartoon ''Bowery Bugs'' poked fun at this practice when Bugs (disguised as a mystic) talks about reading the bumps on his client's head. When his client replies he doesn't have any bumps on his head Bugs hits him there with a hammer.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/Bowery Bugs Bowery Bugs] (1949) Merrie Melodies (Warner Brothers) (archive.org copy)</ref>

This practice was also demonized in the 2012 movie {{wpl|Django Unchained|''Django Unchained''|,}} where Calvin Candi (a slave owner regarded as a cruel bigot even for the standards of pre-Civil War America) uses it as an excuse for his racist views. 

==See also==
*[[Non-materialist neuroscience]]
*[[Lipsology]]
*[[Iridology]]
*[[Copromancy]]

==External links==
*[http://skepdic.com/phren.html Entry in The Skeptic's Dictionary]
*[http://www.historyofphrenology.org.uk/ History of Phrenology page]
*[http://www.theness.com/index.php/phrenology-history-of-a-pseudoscience/ Phrenology: History of a Pseudoscience] by [[Steven Novella]]
*[http://knightlab.berkeley.edu/statics/publications/2011/04/29/Knight-Science.pdf Neural Networks Debunk Phrenology] by Robert T. Knight
*''[http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=IV8LAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=phrenology&ots=sPMhkhNX9q&sig=Ye1hlnrUYVLvw3y6zq1f01ltLNM#v=onepage&q&f=false Phrenology: Or the Doctrine of the Mental Phenomena]'' by J.G. Spurzheim (a phrenology tract from 1846)
*[http://mashable.com/2016/11/05/vaughts-practical-character-reader/ Excerpts from and commentary on ''Vaught's Practical Character Reader'', a 1902 "beginner's guide to phrenological madness"] - Retronaut.com
**[https://archive.org/details/vaughtspractical00vaug The complete book, digitized by the Library of Congress] - [[Internet Archive|Archive.com]]
**[https://archive.org/details/vaughtspractica00vauggoog Backup copy, digitized by Google] - Archive.com

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Personality trait woo]]
[[Category:Protoscience]]
[[Category:Racism]]

Categories: Pseudoscience, Psychology, Personality trait woo, Protoscience, Racism