Phrenology Bust
Phrenology is to psychology what alchemy is to chemistry.
My Phrenology Bust is a direct copy of the original Fowler's one from 1850. artsci.case.edu/dittrick/online-exhibits/explore-the-arti...
"Phrenology, the study of the conformation of the skull as indicative of mental faculties and traits of character, especially according to the hypotheses of Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828), a German doctor, and such 19th-century adherents as Johann Kaspar Spurzheim (1776–1832) and George Combe (1788–1858)." www.britannica.com/topic/phrenology
Contemporary neuroscientists have discovered that certain parts of the brain do in fact control particular aspects of the mind. So the biggest mistake that Phrenology made was linking its ideas to the shape (specifically bumps) of the skull. The skull is merely the box that contains the brain, and even in the 19th century, brain function was still very poorly understood.
The worst part about Phrenology as a pseudoscience was how easily it led to racist ideas and views that people of a certain class were simply the result of the shape of their skull. A closely related pseudoscience is Physiognomy - the idea that facial features determine personality. This was developed in the 18th century by a Swiss writer Joseph Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801). Unfortunately, even today popular culture clings to this idea that higher intelligence equates to "good looks". So the better we make ourselves appear (hence all the money spent on make up) the more likely we are to succeed in life. It's an awful belief system!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126957-300-how-your-look...
The Fowler brothers of New York began reading heads (yes, that's the origin of that phrase, "You need your head read.") in the 1830s. They took their show on the road and made their fortune. The famous L.N. Fowler bust displayed a three dimensional "map" of the personality traits that the Fowler's believed they could discover.
Here is a great article on the whole relationship of Phrenology to Neuroscience. theconversation.com/neuroscientists-put-the-dubious-theor...
Phrenology Bust
Phrenology is to psychology what alchemy is to chemistry.
My Phrenology Bust is a direct copy of the original Fowler's one from 1850. artsci.case.edu/dittrick/online-exhibits/explore-the-arti...
"Phrenology, the study of the conformation of the skull as indicative of mental faculties and traits of character, especially according to the hypotheses of Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828), a German doctor, and such 19th-century adherents as Johann Kaspar Spurzheim (1776–1832) and George Combe (1788–1858)." www.britannica.com/topic/phrenology
Contemporary neuroscientists have discovered that certain parts of the brain do in fact control particular aspects of the mind. So the biggest mistake that Phrenology made was linking its ideas to the shape (specifically bumps) of the skull. The skull is merely the box that contains the brain, and even in the 19th century, brain function was still very poorly understood.
The worst part about Phrenology as a pseudoscience was how easily it led to racist ideas and views that people of a certain class were simply the result of the shape of their skull. A closely related pseudoscience is Physiognomy - the idea that facial features determine personality. This was developed in the 18th century by a Swiss writer Joseph Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801). Unfortunately, even today popular culture clings to this idea that higher intelligence equates to "good looks". So the better we make ourselves appear (hence all the money spent on make up) the more likely we are to succeed in life. It's an awful belief system!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126957-300-how-your-look...
The Fowler brothers of New York began reading heads (yes, that's the origin of that phrase, "You need your head read.") in the 1830s. They took their show on the road and made their fortune. The famous L.N. Fowler bust displayed a three dimensional "map" of the personality traits that the Fowler's believed they could discover.
Here is a great article on the whole relationship of Phrenology to Neuroscience. theconversation.com/neuroscientists-put-the-dubious-theor...