Edinburgh Phrenological Society
Encyclopedia
The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was established in 1820. Phrenology
was then claimed to be a science
but is now regarded as a pseudoscience
. The central concepts of phrenology were that the brain is the organ of the mind and that human behaviour can be most usefully understood in neurological rather than philosophical or religious terms. Founded by George Combe
, his brother Andrew
and a close circle of friends, it was the first - and foremost - phrenological society in Great Britain
. More than forty phrenological societies followed in other parts of the British Isles. Phrenologists were mildly hostile to Christian beliefs. Early phrenologists included the publisher Robert Chambers
(1802-1871), author of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
(1844), the botanist and evolutionary thinker Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804-1881) and the distinguished asylum reformer, William A.F. Browne (1805-1885). The society transformed phrenology from being merely a materialist theory of the mind into a secular doctrine of healthy living. Many of its early members were lawyer
s or doctor
s with an interest in social reform, a flair for interdisciplinary thinking and a generally secular outlook on human life.
in the early 19th century. Gall suggested that facets of the mind
corresponded to regions of the brain
, and it was possible that to determine character traits by examining the shape of a person's skull. This aspect was greatly expanded by his one-time disciple, Johann Spurzheim, who coined the term 'phrenology' and saw it as a means to facilitate the advance of human society.
In 1815, a hostile article by the anatomist John Gordon was published in the Edinburgh Review
, calling phrenology a "mixture of gross errors and extravagant absurdities". In response, Spurzheim went to Edinburgh to take part in public debates and to perform brain dissections in public. Whilst he was received sympathetically by the scientific and medical community there, many had doubts about the philosophical basis of phrenology. George Combe, a lawyer, who had previously been sceptical, became convinced of the truth of phrenology after seeing Spurzheim perform a dissection of the brain.
The Edinburgh Phrenological Society was founded on 22 February, 1820, by the Combe brothers at the suggestion of the Evangelical minister David Welsh
. The society grew rapidly, members publishing articles, giving lectures and defending phrenology from opponents like the philosopher Sir William Hamilton
and the editor of the Edinburgh Review, Francis Jeffrey. The hostility of other critics, including Alexander Munro (tertius), the lamentable Professor of Anatomy in Edinburgh, actually added to the glamour of phrenological concepts. The society acquired large numbers of phrenological artefacts, such as marked porcelain heads indicating the placement of phrenological organs, and endocranial casts of individuals with abnormal personalities . In 1823, Andrew Combe, a distinguished physician and phrenologist, addressed the Royal Medical Society
in a debate, arguing that phrenology best explained the intellectual and moral abilities of mankind. Both sides claimed victory after the lengthy debate, but the Medical Society refused to publish an account of it, prompting the Phrenological Society to establish its own journal in 1824, The Phrenological Journal and Miscellany, later re-named Phrenological Journal and Magazine of Moral Science.
In the early 1820s, a split emerged between the evangelical members of the society and Combe's close associates. The Christian phrenologists, led by David Welsh
, detected an increasing emphasis on a "morality without religion" among George Combe and his colleagues. This angered the Christian group, who judged it to be an attempt to undermine the revealed morality of the Bible
and, as they saw it, an effort to place science on an equal footing to religion
. Matters came to a head when Combe and his supporters successfully passed a motion banning the discussion of theology
in the society, effectively silencing his critics. This prompted the evangelical members, including David Welsh, to leave. In December 1826, the atheistic phrenologist William A.F. Browne caused a sensation at the Plinian Society
with an attack on the recently republished theories of Charles Bell
concerning emotional expression - arguing that there were no absolute distinctions between human and animal anatomy - and Charles Darwin
was there to hear. On 27th March 1827, William A.F. Browne returned to advance phrenological theories concerning the human mind in terms of Lamarkian evolution of the brain in a style destined to attract the opposition of almost all the members of the Plinian Society - and, once again, the 18 year old Charles Darwin
observed the ensuing outrage . In his early notebooks, Darwin made some rather casual and complimentary references to the views of the phrenologists.
. In 1836, Hewett Cottrell Watson published a paper entitled What Is The Use Of The Double Brain ? in which he speculated on the separate development of the two human cerebral hemispheres. Like Robert Chambers
, Watson later turned his energies to the question of the transmutation of species
, and appointed himself editor of the Phrenological Journal in 1837. In the 1850s, Watson conducted an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin
concerning the geographical distribution of British plant species and Darwin made a generous acknowledgement of Watson's scientific contributions in The Origin of Species.
Interest in phrenology in Edinburgh declined in the 1830s, though worldwide interest remained high, with George Combe's The Constitution of Man and his Lectures on Phrenology being much in demand. The last recorded meeting of the society took place in 1870. On 29th February 1924, Sir James Crichton-Browne
(the elder surviving son of William A.F. Browne) delivered the Ramsay Henderson Bequest Lecture entitled The Story of the Brain in which he recorded a generous appreciation of the role of the Edinburgh phrenologists in the later development of neurology and neuropsychiatry. Much of the society's collection of phrenological artefacts survives today.
Phrenology
Phrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules...
was then claimed to be a science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
but is now regarded as a pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
. The central concepts of phrenology were that the brain is the organ of the mind and that human behaviour can be most usefully understood in neurological rather than philosophical or religious terms. Founded by George Combe
George Combe
George Combe , was a Scottish lawyer and writer on phrenology and education. In later years, he devoted himself to the promotion of phrenology. His major work was The Constitution of Man .-Early life:...
, his brother Andrew
Andrew Combe
Andrew Combe , Scottish physician and phrenologist; was born in Edinburgh on the October 27, 1797, and was a younger brother of George Combe....
and a close circle of friends, it was the first - and foremost - phrenological society in Great Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. More than forty phrenological societies followed in other parts of the British Isles. Phrenologists were mildly hostile to Christian beliefs. Early phrenologists included the publisher Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, geologist, proto-evolutionary thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th century scientific and political circles.Chambers was an early phrenologist, and was the...
(1802-1871), author of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation is a unique work of speculative natural history published anonymously in England in 1844. It brought together various ideas of stellar evolution with the progressive transmutation of species in an accessible narrative which tied together numerous...
(1844), the botanist and evolutionary thinker Hewett Cottrell Watson (1804-1881) and the distinguished asylum reformer, William A.F. Browne (1805-1885). The society transformed phrenology from being merely a materialist theory of the mind into a secular doctrine of healthy living. Many of its early members were lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s or doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s with an interest in social reform, a flair for interdisciplinary thinking and a generally secular outlook on human life.
Background
Phrenology emerged from the views of the physiologist and medical phantasist Franz Joseph GallFranz Joseph Gall
Franz Joseph Gall was a neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain.- Life :...
in the early 19th century. Gall suggested that facets of the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
corresponded to regions of the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
, and it was possible that to determine character traits by examining the shape of a person's skull. This aspect was greatly expanded by his one-time disciple, Johann Spurzheim, who coined the term 'phrenology' and saw it as a means to facilitate the advance of human society.
In 1815, a hostile article by the anatomist John Gordon was published in the Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
, calling phrenology a "mixture of gross errors and extravagant absurdities". In response, Spurzheim went to Edinburgh to take part in public debates and to perform brain dissections in public. Whilst he was received sympathetically by the scientific and medical community there, many had doubts about the philosophical basis of phrenology. George Combe, a lawyer, who had previously been sceptical, became convinced of the truth of phrenology after seeing Spurzheim perform a dissection of the brain.
The society
David Welsh
David Welsh was a Scots divine and academic.In the 1820s, Welsh was notable for his attempt to forge an alliance between the evangelicals and the phrenologists - then at the height of their influence...
. The society grew rapidly, members publishing articles, giving lectures and defending phrenology from opponents like the philosopher Sir William Hamilton
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet was a Scottish metaphysician.-Early life:He was born in Glasgow. He was from an academic family, including Robert Hamilton, the economist...
and the editor of the Edinburgh Review, Francis Jeffrey. The hostility of other critics, including Alexander Munro (tertius), the lamentable Professor of Anatomy in Edinburgh, actually added to the glamour of phrenological concepts. The society acquired large numbers of phrenological artefacts, such as marked porcelain heads indicating the placement of phrenological organs, and endocranial casts of individuals with abnormal personalities . In 1823, Andrew Combe, a distinguished physician and phrenologist, addressed the Royal Medical Society
Royal Medical Society
The Royal Medical Society is the oldest medical society in the United Kingdom . Known originally as 'the Medical Society' when it was established in 1737, it was granted a Royal Charter in 1778...
in a debate, arguing that phrenology best explained the intellectual and moral abilities of mankind. Both sides claimed victory after the lengthy debate, but the Medical Society refused to publish an account of it, prompting the Phrenological Society to establish its own journal in 1824, The Phrenological Journal and Miscellany, later re-named Phrenological Journal and Magazine of Moral Science.
In the early 1820s, a split emerged between the evangelical members of the society and Combe's close associates. The Christian phrenologists, led by David Welsh
David Welsh
David Welsh was a Scots divine and academic.In the 1820s, Welsh was notable for his attempt to forge an alliance between the evangelicals and the phrenologists - then at the height of their influence...
, detected an increasing emphasis on a "morality without religion" among George Combe and his colleagues. This angered the Christian group, who judged it to be an attempt to undermine the revealed morality of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and, as they saw it, an effort to place science on an equal footing to religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. Matters came to a head when Combe and his supporters successfully passed a motion banning the discussion of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in the society, effectively silencing his critics. This prompted the evangelical members, including David Welsh, to leave. In December 1826, the atheistic phrenologist William A.F. Browne caused a sensation at the Plinian Society
Plinian Society
The Plinian Society was a club at the University of Edinburgh for students interested in natural history. It was founded in 1823. Several of its members went on to have prominent careers, most notably Charles Darwin who announced his first scientific discoveries at the society.-Foundation,...
with an attack on the recently republished theories of Charles Bell
Charles Bell
Sir Charles Bell was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, neurologist and philosophical theologian.His three older brothers included John Bell , also a noted surgeon and writer; and the advocate George Joseph Bell .-Life:...
concerning emotional expression - arguing that there were no absolute distinctions between human and animal anatomy - and Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
was there to hear. On 27th March 1827, William A.F. Browne returned to advance phrenological theories concerning the human mind in terms of Lamarkian evolution of the brain in a style destined to attract the opposition of almost all the members of the Plinian Society - and, once again, the 18 year old Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
observed the ensuing outrage . In his early notebooks, Darwin made some rather casual and complimentary references to the views of the phrenologists.
Later influence of phrenological thought
The society was given a financial boost by the death of a wealthy supporter in 1832, William Ramsay Henderson, who left a large bequest to the Society to promote phrenology as it saw fit. This enabled the phrenologists to publish a cheap version of The Constitution of Man, which went on to become one of the best selling books of the 19th Century. Despite the widespread interest in phrenology in the 1820s and 1830s, the Phrenological Journal always struggled to make a profit. In 1832 - 1834, William A.F. Browne published a paper in three serialised episodes relating mental disorder to a disturbance in the neurological organization of languageLanguage
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
. In 1836, Hewett Cottrell Watson published a paper entitled What Is The Use Of The Double Brain ? in which he speculated on the separate development of the two human cerebral hemispheres. Like Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, geologist, proto-evolutionary thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th century scientific and political circles.Chambers was an early phrenologist, and was the...
, Watson later turned his energies to the question of the transmutation of species
Transmutation of species
Transmutation of species was a term used by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1809 for his theory that described the altering of one species into another, and the term is often used to describe 19th century evolutionary ideas that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection...
, and appointed himself editor of the Phrenological Journal in 1837. In the 1850s, Watson conducted an extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
concerning the geographical distribution of British plant species and Darwin made a generous acknowledgement of Watson's scientific contributions in The Origin of Species.
Interest in phrenology in Edinburgh declined in the 1830s, though worldwide interest remained high, with George Combe's The Constitution of Man and his Lectures on Phrenology being much in demand. The last recorded meeting of the society took place in 1870. On 29th February 1924, Sir James Crichton-Browne
James Crichton-Browne
Sir James Crichton-Browne MD FRS was a leading British psychiatrist famous for studies on the relationship of mental illness to neurological damage and for the development of public health policies in relation to mental health...
(the elder surviving son of William A.F. Browne) delivered the Ramsay Henderson Bequest Lecture entitled The Story of the Brain in which he recorded a generous appreciation of the role of the Edinburgh phrenologists in the later development of neurology and neuropsychiatry. Much of the society's collection of phrenological artefacts survives today.
External links
- History of the Phrenology Bust as developed by Spurzheim.
- Elements of Phrenology by George Combes.
- articles on Phrenological practice by George Combe, Andrew Combe, and other early Phrenologists.