Phrenology
Phrenology ( gr φρήν, φρενός phrenos = " spirit ", " soul ", " diaphragm " and λόγος = " teaching ") is an early 19th century by the physician and anatomist Franz Joseph Gall ( 1758-1828 ) founded topologically oriented doctrine that sought mental properties and states assign specific, clearly defined areas of the brain. Here is a connection between the skull and brain form a part, and character and gifts of the Spirit was on the other hand assumed. It is through their ideologically oriented approach, the prototypical example of a pseudo-science, but is an important precursor and reference point of the modern neuro-and cognitive sciences constitutes a counter draft to phrenology was the Äquipotentialtheorie.
Phrenology is to be distinguished from of the emerging craniometry ( " doctrine of skull measurement " ) as a tool of racial science. This doctrine was especially the beginning of the 20th century, especially in the context of racist theories, popular. Kraniometrische surveys were still widely used in anthropology and ethnology, nowadays you can find out in the measurement of animal skull bones are still widely used in archeology to gain insights into the evolution of the human species.
Basic assumptions
According to Gall's idea, the brain was the real seat of all mental activity of man. The character and the mind and ultimately the intelligence arose for him from the interaction existing in varying degrees abilities. These were for him a number of " organs " that is materially existing parts of the brain linked with each organ was the seat of a characteristic gift of intellect or instinct. The size and shape of the individual organs was therefore a measure of the severity of each trait, the overall assessment of a person 's character was in the proportions of organs to each other predetermined. Evidence for the expression of the organs could be ( living objects ) from the outer shape of the skull win. Gall himself was in addition also be interested in the override of the mortal remains of the spiritual realm and promised active contemporaries from the study of the skulls of domestic animals ( their former peculiarities should be communicated to him ) new knowledge.
Dissemination of teaching
In Gall's original version of the doctrine, there were 27 different " organs " that present themselves to the outside as fields (visible to the eye stretches ). Gall's student Johann Spurzheim (1776-1832) added to the model later added their own extensions and made it known on several trips including France, the UK and the USA. In these countries, the doctrine quickly found more followers who own embellishments first names (in particular the number of organs grew in the course of time constantly on).
1820 was founded in Scotland the " Edinburgh Phrenological Society" published its own magazine from 1823. Among the founders were George Combe and his younger brother Andrew Combe, published numerous writings on the subject. Among the representatives of the theory in the United States included Lorenzo Niles Fowler Orson Squire Fowler and, the former went to England later in 1887 and founded the " British Phrenological Society", which existed until 1967.
A practicing phrenologist said at the time to be able to determine the talents and abilities of a child already from the age of six. Often the diagnosis completed for career choice was used. The ability of the phrenologists to predict the future behavior and thus virtually the future as a result of "scientific" theories justifiable, must have exercised on his contemporaries no small fascination. Of course, it represented a minor problem for them to incorporate into their reviews quite a sum of observations with the environment of the subject, without affecting the theory has been questioned.
Even the older of the Combe- brothers turned the theory also to the assessment of offenders and inmates of psychiatric institutions and developed ideas for the improvement of the lot of the disadvantaged through education and character formation.
The main dissemination period of teaching lies in the years to 1860; thereafter it was still practiced, but had overtaken as a research object. The scientific value of Gall's theory was controversial due to their practically non-existent empirical justification from time immemorial. However, their popularity did no harm, anthropological and natural philosophical works, in which reference was made to them, were among the most widely read writings of that time.
Subsequent development
The French anthropologist Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke of the German neurologist could identify brain regions in the later 19th century, which are in the speech production and comprehension of language is of great importance. Thus, a significant part of Gall's theory was confirmed ( the functional differentiation of the brain ) in principle and found in this way the entrance into the modern neuroscience. In fact, the regions of the postulated by Gall language meaning were even close today confirmed experimentally Brodmann areas. But this may be due to chance - most proposed by Gall " organs " are in any case not as a distinct brain regions in question. - The phrenology of Franz Josef Gall can be regarded as a forerunner of today's brain localization theory (→ Brodmann areas ). From textbook sources would cite:
In this historical context, the name of the Swiss pastor Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801) is to call with his four-volume Physiognomische fragments (1775-1778), in which Goethe participated. The physiognomy of Lavater is now risen, partly in the psychology of expression.
Phrenology was reflected in the works of the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), in which he attributed criminal inclinations to hereditary predisposition, and methods of recognition based on physical " defects " described. The Belgian educator Paul Bouts saw in phrenology a means of improving the learning success, as they should allow addressing the special personal qualities of the students.
Phrenology can be regarded as an example of that in the history of medicine, knowledge of anatomical conditions has contributed to a slow-growing progress of physiological theories. Max Neuburger has this development of medicine represented as wave motions in the sense of mutual progress in knowledge between the built-up on a purely anatomical localization and way of looking at a physiological mode of representation in the sense of " general functional pathology ".
The brains of known magnitudes of the story, such as the Einstein or Lenin, are kept, inter alia as a result of this doctrine in preserved form today.