Phrenology seemed to provide what the religion of Puritanical America had not: a way to empower individuals to shape their own future.Īfter her marriage to Lorenzo Fowler in 1844, Lydia Folger began lecturing on phrenology, physiology, anatomy, and hygiene to largely female audiences. And like all true-blooded 19th century American entrepreneurs, they also just happened to sell the phrenological gear and accessories needed to make this happen. Their version of phrenology attempted to bring together all the strands of science capable of improving the mind or benefiting mankind, which they believed would herald a new and better world. The Fowlers translated phrenology into a doctrine of perfectionism, a set plan designed to create a perfect social and moral system. After graduation, the brothers put aside their plans for a life in the church for another kind of missionary work. His enthusiasm soon infected his younger brother, Lorenzo, along with the rest of the family, including younger sister Charlotte her husband, Samuel Wells and Lorenzo’s wife, Lydia Folger. He began to lecture on the topic to his classmates at Amherst College in Massachusetts and offered head readings for two cents each. The son of a farmer and church deacon from upstate New York, Orson first pursued the ministry but found his true calling in phrenology. The eldest brother, Orson Squire Fowler, hadn’t set out to be a phrenologist. The Fowler brothers, Lorenzo Niles and Orson Squire, turned their interest in phrenology into a substantial business based in New York City in the 1830s. Moreover, phrenology also became commercialized in the United States, in large part due to the efforts of the Fowler family. ![]() Phrenology seemed to provide what the strict Calvinist religion of Puritanical America had not: a way to better what God gave you, empowering individuals to help shape their own future, and making man the master of his own mind. The upper classes liked it because it reassured them that the social hierarchy that placed them on top was “natural” the emerging middle class and working classes liked it because its meritocratic message confirmed their hope of advancement through personal striving and self-improvement. All classes of society found much to admire in phrenology. One reason phrenology attracted so many followers was that it seemed to provide the toolbox for the American dream. While phrenology became very popular in Europe, it found its most devoted audience in the United States. Like weightlifting builds muscle, the brain was an organ to be exercised. Later phrenologists came to believe that people could strengthen their positive brain organs. Through his study, Gall came to believe that the shape of the brain matched the shape of the skull that encased it, so studying the bumps and indentations of the skull could reveal the function and character of the brain beneath. These faculties included everything from reproduction to affection, vanity, and musical ability. The size and development of each area, which Gall called faculties, implied a greater or lesser disposition toward the trait. Gall conceived of the brain not as a single organ but as a mosaic of specialized parts that each governed a particular mental or emotional function. This anecdotal observation and his later anatomical work on the structure of the brain led Gall to formulate his new science of the mind. Theorizing about the connection, Gall suggested that the part of the brain located behind the eyes must be associated with verbal memory. Gall’s initial question came from something he’d observed in childhood: classmates who excelled at memorization also tended to have large protruding eyes. As a physician, he became a skilled anatomist who learned to dissect the brain to show the origins and pathways of cranial nerves. Gall grew fascinated by the physical structure of the body as a medical student. Physician Franz Joseph Gall first developed his theories on the anatomy and function of the brain in 18th-century Vienna, where Sigmund Freud would later foster another science of the mind, psychoanalysis, beginning in the late 19th century. Phrenologists believed that people could strengthen their positive brain organs. Why do we act the way we do? What determines the patterns of our behavior? How can we be better people? Every generation seeks answers to these questions, and in the mid-19th century, phrenology provided one incredibly popular and influential explanation. But for millions of Americans in the 19th century, phrenology provided comfort and insight, a way to know and understand behavior and personality with seemingly scientific precision. ![]() To anyone who has ever shaved his or her head and been horrified by the lumps and dents hidden beneath, the idea that those bumps said anything about a person’s character might be unsettling.
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