Science and self-assessment: phrenological charts 1840–1940.

This paper looks at phrenological charts as mediators of (pseudo-)scientific knowledge to individual clients who used them as a means of self-assessment. Phrenologists propagated the idea that the human mind could be categorized into different mental faculties, with each particular faculty represent...

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Publicado en:British Journal for the History of Science Vol. 51; no. 2; pp. 261 - 281
Autor principal: SYSLING, FENNEKE
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Cambridge University Press Jun2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Science and self-assessment: phrenological charts 1840–1940.
      aug:
        au: SYSLING, FENNEKE
        affil: Department of History and Art History, University of Utrecht, Drift 6, 3512 BS, Utrecht, the Netherlands..
      su:
        Phrenology
        Brain anatomy
        Self-evaluation
        Brain function localization
        Mind & body
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        subj:
          Phrenology
          Brain anatomy
          Self-evaluation
          Brain function localization
          Mind & body
      ab: This paper looks at phrenological charts as mediators of (pseudo-)scientific knowledge to individual clients who used them as a means of self-assessment. Phrenologists propagated the idea that the human mind could be categorized into different mental faculties, with each particular faculty represented in a different area of the brain and by bumps on the head. In the US and the UK popular phrenologists examined individual clients for a fee. Drawing on a collection of phrenological charts completed for individual clients, this paper shows how charts aspired to convey new ideals of selfhood by using the authority of science in tailor-made certificates, and by teaching clients some of the basic practices of that science. Hitherto historians studying phrenology have focused mainly on the attraction of the content of phrenological knowledge for the wider public, but in this paper I show how the charts enabled clients to participate actively in creating knowledge of their own bodies and selves.
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      doctype: Article
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    language: English
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