"Phrenologists" Pronounce,Meaning And Examples

"Phrenologists" Meaning

Phrenologists are people who believed in phrenology, a 19th-century pseudo-science that claimed to determine personality traits and intellectual abilities by examining the shape and size of a person's skull, particularly the bumps and indentations on the surface.

"Phrenologists" Examples

Usage Examples: In the 19th century, the London Phrenological Society was a legitimate scientific institution that studied the shape of the skull to determine a person's character traits. The exhibits at the American Museum of Phrenology, established in 1839 in New York City, showed examples of skulls arranged in categories by their corresponding cranial features. Some people believed that phrenologists could detect the presence of a so-called "organ of amativeness" or separate organs for maternal or child-rearing instincts. In George Eliot's novel 'Middlemarch', the character Mr. Bulstrode is described as a seeker of phrenological readings who used them for personal self-discovery. Phrenology's French name "l'anthropologie crâniane" indicates a central aspect of the science - that physical characteristics of the brain shape determine personality traits.