Phrenology – מילון אנגלי-אנגלי
phrenology
n.
analysis of personal traits according to the shape of the skull
Phrenology
Phrenology is a
pseudomedicine primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the
brain is the organ of the
mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules. Although both of those ideas have a basis in reality, phrenology beyond
empirical knowledge in a way that departed from
science. Developed by German physician
Franz Joseph Gall in 1796, the discipline was very popular in the 19th century, especially from about 1810 until 1840. The principal British centre for phrenology was Edinburgh, where the
Edinburgh Phrenological Society was established in 1820.
phrenology
Noun
1. a now abandoned study of the shape of skull as indicative of the strengths of different faculties
(hypernym) life science, bioscience
Phrenology
(n.)
The science of the special functions of the several parts of the brain, or of the supposed connection between the various faculties of the mind and particular organs in the brain.
(n.)
In popular usage, the physiological hypothesis of Gall, that the mental faculties, and traits of character, are shown on the surface of the head or skull; craniology.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter.
About
phrenology (head-reading)
Study of human skulls with the purported aim of learning personality traits and mental capacity. Phrenologic considerations include the shape of the skull, the size and location of protrusions thereon, and hair growth. Drs. F.J. Gall (1756-1828) and J.G. Spurzheim, coauthors of The Physiognomical System, were notable pioneers in the field.
