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Definition: A form of anthropometry, phrenology involves the study of the shape and structure of a person's skull (and most specifically any bumps on the top of a person's head) in an effort to determine things like character and intelligence.
Phrenology was most popular during the 19th century and a few people today continue to believe it. It seems to have been first described in organized terms by Dr. Franz Joseph Gall, a physician in Vienna. Church authorities considered his ideas dangerous and so lobbied the government to ban his lectures - which they did. Gall then teamed up with Dr. J. K. Spurtzheim and the two lectured around Europe, finally settling in Paris in 1807. It was there that Dr. T.I. Foster gave the system the name phrenology.
I look upon phrenology as the guide to philosophy and hand maid of Christianity. Whoever disseminates true phrenology is a public benefactor.
-- Thomas Mann
The popularity of phrenology may not, however, been entirely a bad thing. Some believe that it had an important impact upon liberal reform movements in both Europe and the United States. It did, after all, support a process of objectively studying people as individuals rather than solely as members of a race or social class. It may not have been a large step away from traditional prejudices, but even small steps are sometimes necessary.
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