The doctrine of phrenology was at least as influential in the
first half of the 19th century as psychoanalysis was in the
first half of the 20th (1). The movement started with Franz
Joseph Gall (1758–1828), a German-born physician, anatomist, and
physiologist who lived in Paris. Phrenology had a major
influence on science and society, and it pervaded various areas
of culture (1). The doctrine’s rapid dissemination, its
popularization, and its use in specialized phrenologists’
offices quickly caused it to be regarded as a typical example of
pseudoscience and its practice as a form of charlatanism (2).
However, Gall’s work proved important for the biological study
of the mind in three ways. First, it was the origin of modern
brain localization (3). Second, it established psychology as a
biological science (4). Many contemporary psychiatrists used the
doctrine even though they did not completely accept it, much in
the way that many people today accept Freudian ideas and
terminology without totally embracing psyc