Phrenology

Phrenology
The study of variations in size, shape, and proportion of the cranium. Phrenology was a pseudoscience of the 18th and 19th centuries based on the belief that a person's character could be learned by looking with care at the shape of their head and noting each and every bump and depression in their skull. The individual mental faculties were believed to be contained in neat compartments in the cerebral cortex and the size of these faculties were supposed to be reflected by the configuration of the skull. The best known model of phrenology was that of Gall who marked off the places of twenty-six organs on the head. The term "phrenology" was cobbled together from the Greek "phren" (the mind or the seat of reason and passion) and "logos" (a treatise, discourse or study). Phrenology has also been called craniognomy and craniology. Irrespective of name, it is an absurd concept.
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An obsolete doctrine that each of the mental faculties is located in a definite part of the cerebral cortex, the size of which part varies in a direct ratio with the development and strength of the corresponding faculty, this size being indicated by the external configuration of the skull. SYN: craniognomy. [phreno- + G. logos, study]

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phre·nol·o·gy fri-'näl-ə-jē n, pl -gies the study of the conformation of the skull based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character

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n.
the study of the bumps on the outside of the skull in order to determine a person's character. It is based on the mistaken theory that the skull becomes modified over the different functional areas of the cortex of the brain.

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phre·nol·o·gy (frə-nolґə-je) [phreno- + -logy] the theory, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, that mental faculties could be determined by the location of bumps and other topographical features on the skull.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Phrenology — (from Greek: φρήν, phrēn , mind ; and λόγος, logos , knowledge ) is a defunct field of study, once considered a science, by which the personality traits of a person were determined by reading bumps and fissures in the skull. Developed by German… …   Wikipedia

  • Phrenology — Phre*nol o*gy, n. [Gr. ?, ?, the mind + logy: cf. F. phr[ e]nologie.] 1. 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Phrenology — est un album des The Roots, sorti en 2002. Liste des titres Phrentrow Rock You !!!!!!! Sacrifice Rolling With Heat WAOK (AY) Roll Call Thought @ Work The Seed (2.0) Break You Off Water Quills Pussy Galore Complexity Something In The Way Of Things …   Wikipédia en Français

  • phrenology — 1815, lit. mental science, from Gk. phren (gen. phrenos) mind + LOGY (Cf. logy) study of. Applied to the theory of mental faculties originated by Gall and Spurzheim that led to the 1840s mania for reading personality clues in the shape of one s… …   Etymology dictionary

  • phrenology — ► NOUN chiefly historical ▪ the study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character. DERIVATIVES phrenologist noun. ORIGIN from Greek phr n mind …   English terms dictionary

  • phrenology — ☆ phrenology [fri näl′ə jē ] n. [ PHRENO (sense 2) + LOGY] a system, popular esp. in the 19th cent., based on the assumption that an analysis of character can be made by a study of the shape and protuberances of the skull phrenological [fren΄ə… …   English World dictionary

  • phrenology — phrenologic /fren l oj ik/, phrenological, adj. phrenologically, adv. phrenologist, n. /fri nol euh jee, fre /, n. a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by …   Universalium

  • phrenology — [[t]frɪnɒ̱ləʤi[/t]] N UNCOUNT Phrenology is the study of the size and shape of people s heads in the belief that you can find out about their characters and abilities from this. ...the ancient science of phrenology. Derived words: phrenologist… …   English dictionary

  • phrenology — noun The science, now generally discredited, which studies the relationships between a persons character and the morphology (structure) of the skull. Oh, sure, you have a system for predicting the stock market; whats next phrenology? Syn:… …   Wiktionary

  • Phrenology (album) — Infobox Album | Name = Phrenology Type = Album Artist = The Roots Released = November 26, 2002 Recorded = June 2000–September 2002 Genre = Hip hop Experimental Music Alternative Hip Hop Rapcore Neo Soul Length = 60:47 Label = Geffen Producer =… …   Wikipedia

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