Phrenology
Phrenology
Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules. It was said that the brain was composed of different muscles, so those that were used more often were bigger, resulting in the different skull shape
"Phrenologys fundamental assumptions remained constant throughout the history of the movement. They were succinctly stated by as consisting of the following three "fundamental principles: (1) That the brain is the organ of the mind ; (2) That the brain is the aggregate of several parts, each subserving a distinct mental faculty; (3) That the size of the cerebral organ is, ceteris paribus, an index of power or energy of function."
"Faculty psychology is getting to be respectable again after centuries of hanging around with phrenologists and other dubious types. By faculty psychology I mean, roughly, the view that many fundamentally different kinds of psychological mechanisms must be postulated in order to explain the facts of mental life."
"“Phrenology! Phah!” Madame Roushka exclaimed, waving her hand dismissively. “A child’s game, a parlor trick at the very best. The only bump or groove that might convey anything to the reader is if the querant has been hit in the head!”"
"As originally put forward , there were four cardinal premises (of phrenology), namely that: (1) the brain is the material instrument through which the mind holds intercourse with the outer world ; (2) the mind entails a congeries of discrete mental faculties each with its own specific center or organ; (3) the size of each organ corresponds with the functional efficiency of each faculty; and (4) the development of the organ is reflected in the shape, size and irregularities of the encompassing cranium."
