Phrenologywas a pseudoscience that claimed bumps on a person’s head were linked to specific aspects of their personality.
Phrenologists used phrenology heads, also called busts, to do “skull readings.”
Supposedly, the readings could reveal information about a person’s character.
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The practice was based on the idea that certain brain functions were found in specific parts of the organ.
Lets talk a bit about how phrenology was used and some examples of phrenology readings.
We’ll also cover why phrenology was considered a pseudoscience and how it perpetuated scientific racism and gender stereotypes.
A Brief History of Phrenology
A German physician named Franz Joseph Gall developed phrenology in the 1700s.
Gall thought that bumps on the brain could be seen and felt by looking at and touching the skull.
His theory was that a person’s brain bumps corresponded to certain traits, characteristics, and abilities.
By the mid-1800s, phrenology had become widely discredited as nothing more than pseudoscience.
However, phrenology readings continued to be popular throughout the 19th century.
Phrenology is regarded as a pseudoscience along the same lines as palm reading and astrology.
Socioeconomic areas like crime and education also intersected with the scientific racism that phrenology perpetuated.
Phrenology also played a role in the creation and perpetuation of gender stereotypes.
They would make note of bumps and indentations in the skull.
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