Phrenology Rubbing fingers and palms across a person’s head in order to analyze that person’s mental aptitude is the basis of phrenology. This was a common practice during the 19th century. It became especially popular in the latter half of the 19th century, around the same time great advances were being made with the telephone. Although these two topics were developing in the same era, they differ greatly in relevancy to today’s world, nearly 200 years later. The telephone is a means of long-distance communication is part of society to date. Phrenology, on the other hand, is the science of the character divination and faculty psychology, once widely accepted in the 19th century, it is viewed as a completely impractical practice today. Franz-Joseph …show more content…
After finding a dependable phrenologist, another challenge was finding one who did not overprice his “skills.” Other issues with phrenology included the fact that the density of the brain can affect the size. Also, different racial groups have different skull shapes. This is not because of brain size or shape; instead it is just the way their skulls grow. Evidence of phrenology being generally inaccurate heavily outweighs evidence of its validity. For example, reading one’s mental abilities correctly can be very important as properly assessing a skull can help guide a teenager to a college major that best fits them. It can also fill jobs with candidates who are best for the position. This would be a huge factor in helping the world …show more content…
They claimed that the information was so broad that it was useless. Although phrenology was practically useless and for the most part just a fad of the 1800s and early 1900s, it helped lead to today’s better ways interpret one’s personality traits. Phrenology began to pick out spots of the brain that correlate to certain mental capabilities. Although impractical, phrenology is the science of the character divination and faculty psychology, and played an immense role in the development of future practices. Feeling the skull seems primitive but it was a huge stepping stone in the psychological field. Today, scientists have so much knowledge of areas of the brain that they are able to put together tests that pinpoint specific regions and reveal a person’s disposition much better than phrenology ever
Psychology comprises of two words originally used by the ‘Greeks’, ‘psyche’, defining the mind, soul or spirit and lastly ‘logos’ being study. Both words define together the ‘study of the mind’. Psychology perspectives evaluate the normal and abnormal behaviour and how persons’ deal with different concepts of issues and problems. Psychology theories’ are based on ‘common sense’, but its scientific structure, everything needs to be evaluated and tested, therefore, promoting different psychological theories’.
A large concern of the field of neurobiology seems to be finding and understanding a connection between the structure and function of the nervous system. What tangible system of tissues is responsible for creating a given perceived output? Some outputs can be more easily traced back to a specific 'motor symphony' and the involved structures isolated. This problem has obsessed generations of scientists. One of the first of this generation of researcher was F.J. Gall who promoted the idea that observable features of the brain could lead to an understanding of specific traits of action (7). Gall's greatest opponent, Marie-Jean-Pierre Flourens published research on localization of function and among his findings was evidence for sensory perception in certain sub-cortical structures (7). However, when Flourens examined the cerebrum he did not get such clean results. He found that damage to the cerebrum would not compromise specific abilities in the patient based on area, but incapacitate the patient in different ways based on the extent of the created lesion. In other words, damage to the cerebrum effected a diminution of 'higher mental faculties' such as "perception intellect and will" according to how great the lesion actually was, not according to where in the hemispheres it occurred (7). His conclusion proposed these higher mental faculties as existing throughout the structures of the cerebrum, and not isolated as with sensory perception. How is it possible to attribute, say elements of personality to a specific structure? Is their a region of the brain responsible for the way we are? A 'nice' region, an 'angry' gland? Here we encounter the ever ephemeral concept of where the I-function lies within the nervous system.
Rationalism and empiricism were two philosophical schools in the 17th and 18th centuries, that were expressing opposite views on some subjects, including knowledge. While the debate between the rationalist and empiricist schools did not have any relationship to the study of psychology at the time, it has contributed greatly to facilitating the possibility of establishing the discipline of Psychology. This essay will describe the empiricist and rationalist debate, and will relate this debate to the history of psychology.
In 1808, Franz Joseph Gall who was a German anatomist discovered that reading the configuration of bumps on the skull can determine a person's character, this is when the study of the brain started to broaden. In 1848, a man named Phinease Gage who was a North American railway worker suffered damage to the frontal lobe of the brain due to the piercing of a metal rod through the skull. Gage survived the accident but his mood and his daily life changed. Because of no treatment due to the lack of knowledge he was unable to work because of aggression (A short history of brain research – 1st Century to 1872). Because this was not the main concern, his behavior remained a
For example, in Marshall Hall and Pierre Flourens’ exploration of the brain, they attempted to map out brain functions. While Hall was able to locate the root of voluntary and involuntary movement in the brain, Flourens assigned physical locations on the brain to different vital functions of the brain, including, but not limited to: auditory and visual reflexes, heartbeat, respiration, higher mental processes, and coordination. While Descartes’ was able to theorize about the functions of the brain as a whole, Hall and Flourens expanded upon his original theory and they revealed the functions of individual parts of the brain. Also exploring the brain, Franz Joseph Gall wanted to know whether or not the shape or the size of the brain could reveal something about a person or animal’s personality characteristics or intelligence. Gall attempted to “map the brain from the outside” (70), and his research reinforced the belief that specific brain functions could be generally localized. While Gall failed in his effort to map the brain from the outside, he was able to distinguish white or gray matter and to further Descartes ' evolving
Sociologists from the older positivist perspective believed that deviant determinism was based on biological factors. Phrenology is an example that is based on biological factors. It “is the doctrine that proposes that psychological traits of personality, intellect, temperament and character are ascertainable from analysis of the protrusions and depressions of the skull” (Vukin, 2009, para. 2). Phrenology in this aspect was used to determine whether or not a person would contribute to society in a ...
The contributions of several doctors, researchers, and scientists helped improve the health of the growing population. In 1850 the average life expectancy was 42 years. By 1910 the average life expectancy had risen to nearly 55 years. Between 1850 and 1910 there were several advances in the medical field. The introduction of genes, white blood cells, blood groups, insulin, rubber gloves, aspirin, and vitamins and the discoveries of Pasteur, Charcot, Halsted, Zirm, Lister, and Koch were the starting point of an international fight against disease.
Cesare Lombroso was an Italian university professor and criminologist, born in Nov. 6, 1835, in Verona, who became worldwide renowned for his studies and theories in the field of characterology, or the relation between mental and physical characteristics. Lombroso tried to relate certain physical characteristics, such as jaw size, to criminal psychopathology, or the innate tendency of individuals toward sociopathy and criminal behavior. As such, Lombroso's approach is a direct descendant of phrenology, created by the German physician Franz Joseph Gall in the beginning of the nineteenth century, and closely related to other fields of characterology, such as craniology and physiognomy. His theory has been scientically discredited, but Lombroso had the merit of bringing up the importance of the scientific studies of the criminal mind, a field which became known as criminal anthropology.
ABSTRACT: Whenever we meet an unknown person, our first judgment, even unwillingly and often subconsciously, starts from his or her external appearance. Since character can be properly recognized only from words and deeds observed over some time, at first sight we have to rely on what we immediately can see. This physiognomical first approach to each other is as old as humankind, and, though it has never been able to be proved a proper science, in everyday life we all believe in and use physioculture. The earliest extant written work on the subject is the pseudo-Aristotelian treatise Physiognomonica. The author of its first part, in discussing the methodology of the art, refers to Aristotle, who develops the logical foundation of physiognomical inference: as an enthymeme, a syllogism from signs. Yet, concentrating solely on the formal logical analysis, Aristotle does not touch the central point of physiognomics; it C. S. Peirce’s discovery of the triadic relation of the sign that was able to shed new light on this central problem and to see physiognomics as a process of semiosis. Thus, Aristotle founded the formal logical basis, from which modern semiotics developed new approaches to physiognomics, taking them in account in several strands of their research.
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. In psychology, and all of the other sciences, relying on opinions is abandoned in order to find out which explanations best fit the evidence or data given. Science continually forces us to question our findings and conclusions. Over time, psychology has advanced greatly and a main reason for such progressiveness is because of the change in the research model used.
...ry BC, it still is able to influence the ideas of modern psychology, devoting to one of the most important aspects of the human brain itself.
The psychological genre as it relates to sociological and medicinal matters has gained an increasing amount of scientific approval. Impartiality and the scientific method are both integral components to a psychologist’s mode of practice. However, even the most esteemed of psychologists can only speculate at what makes human beings act the way they do. Absolutes play no function in psychology. Everything is relative and open to conjecture. Theologians give us their visions or thoughts about life. In the field of psychology, there have been many different regions of interest and speculation.
Earlier theories attempted to find a link between human physical characteristics and criminal behavior. In fact, this concept has been tested and modified over time. One theory, suggested by Franz Joseph Gall, is "that mental faculties and traits of character, such as acquisitiveness, benevolence, destructiveness, spirituality, combativeness, and imitativeness, are manifested in separate portions of the brain" (Thompson and Bynum, 2010, PP. 87-88). This system was called Phrenology; it was a popular belief in which practitioners' claimed that by measuring shape, irregularities and protuberances of the skull would allow them to find the mental and behavioral characteristics (Thompson and Bynum, 2010, P. 88). This theory has since been disproved. Another theorist, Cesare Lombroso, referred to as the "father of criminology," used a similar approach to Gall. He "measured the jaw bones, skulls, hands, and other physical traits of a group of prisoners and proposed that crimin...
Mental illness, today we are surround by a broad array of types of mental illnesses and new discoveries in this field every day. Up till the mid 1800’s there was no speak of personality disorder, in fact there was only two type of mental illness recognized. Those two illnesses as defined by Dr. Sam Vaknin (2010), “”delirium” or “manial”- were depression (melancholy), psychoses, and delusions.” It was later in 1835 when J. C. Pritchard the British Physician working at Bristol Infirmary Hospital published his work titled “Treatise on Insanity and Other Disorder of the Mind” this opened the door to the world of personality disorder. There were many story and changes to his theories and mental illness and it was then when Henry Maudsley in 1885 put theses theories to work and applied to a patient. This form of mental illness has since grown into the many different types of personality disorder that we know today. Like the evolution of the illness itself there has been a significant change in the way this illness is diagnosed and treated.
In all historical aspects, psychology can show us the diverse ranges of how it is evolving throughout our world today. Ancient Greeks and philosophers in the 4th century, show us the early development of personality psychology. They wanted to figure out what actually makes us who we are. Aristotle was one of the first individuals to hypothesize connections between physical aspects of the body and behavior. Today there are many different theoretical vi...