phrenological
1
9.9
- adjective
- /ˌfrɛnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl/
- Archaic
- The American government authorized the pillaging of Native American skulls and stored them in the Smithsonian for phrenological purposes, or in other words, to study the differences in skull sizes between Natives and white Americans in order to scientifically support the idea of white supremacy.
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Watch on YouTubeSo Hegel is not actually comparing language here to action and physiognomic expression or phrenological expression too, right?
- So Hegel is not actually comparing language here to action and physiognomic expression or phrenological expression too, right?
Examples
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The doctor conducted a phrenological assessment to determine his patient's character traits.
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35 Whereas Morton and phrenological research focused on the skull, the new studies included the whole body.
Academic text (1996) -
So Hegel is not actually comparing language here to action and physiognomic expression or phrenological expression too, right?
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One wonders why Prof. Coyne has not demanded a reconciliation of the story of Adam and Eve to 'phrenological' facts, or to the 'fact' of alchemy!
Blog text (19) -
Severo Catalina was the exception who scoffed at phrenology: "It is useless to pay attention to the phrenological indicators."
Academic text (1992) -
To them, the curves, bumps, and protrusions of an individual's body served as a topographical map for understanding the physiological workings under the skin, a kind of phrenological reading of the entire body.
Academic text (2012) -
In the 19th century, many people believed that phrenological features could predict intelligence and personality.
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The book provided a phrenological analysis of various historical figures based on their skull shapes.
Synonyms
1
9.6
About a person's face or look that suggests their character
How Scientific
Surface Forms
Morphology
phrenological = phrenology (transparent) = phren + ology + al
The adjective is formed in the regular way from the noun 'phrenology' by adding '-al'.
Etymology
The word phrenological comes from the old Greek root phren meaning 'mind' and the ending -ology meaning 'study'. So phrenological describes the old, now outdated idea of 'studying' the mind by looking at the shape of a person's skull.