Phrenology

"Phrenology's fundamental assumptions remained constant throughout the history of the movement. They were succinctly stated by as consisting of the following three "fundamental principles': (1) That the brain is the organ of the mind ; (2) That the brain is the aggregate of several parts, each subserving a distinct mental faculty; (3) That the size of the cerebral organ is, ceteris paribus, an index of power or energy of function."

"As originally put forward , there were four cardinal premises (of phrenology), namely that: (1) the brain is the material instrument through which the mind holds intercourse with the outer world ; (2) the mind entails a congeries of discrete mental faculties each with its own specific center or organ; (3) the size of each organ corresponds with the functional efficiency of each faculty; and (4) the development of the organ is reflected in the shape, size and irregularities of the encompassing cranium."

"Faculty psychology is getting to be respectable again after centuries of hanging around with phrenologists and other dubious types. By faculty psychology I mean, roughly, the view that many fundamentally different kinds of psychological mechanisms must be postulated in order to explain the facts of mental life."

"“Phrenology! Phah!” Madame Roushka exclaimed, waving her hand dismissively. “A child’s game, a parlor trick at the very best. The only bump or groove that might convey anything to the reader is if the querant has been hit in the head!”"

"The origin of all science is in the desire to know causes; and the origin of all false science and imposture is in the desire to accept false causes rather than none; or, which is the same thing, in the unwillingness to acknowledge our own ignorance."

"'Tis strange how like a very dunce, Man, with his bumps upon his sconce, Has lived so long, and yet no knowledge he Has had, till lately, of Phrenology— A science that by simple dint of Head-combing he should find a hint of, When scratching o'er those little pole-hills The faculties throw up like mole hills."