Gall, FrançOis Joseph (1758–1828)

Marc Renneville

The doctor and anatomist François Joseph Gall was the founder of phrenology , a science of the mind now considered outdated but that was of major importance in the Western world in the first half of the nineteenth century. Phrenology put forward a theory for the perpetration of crime, passing of judgment, and application of penalties. This was really criminology before the invention of the term. François (Franz in German) Gall applied his doctrine in Austria, in the Germanic states, and in France, where he finally settled in 1808. Phrenology combines three ideas. The first is that the brain houses all of humans' fundamental faculties. The second is that each of the various functions of the brain corresponds to a different organ. The third is that the skull ...

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