Definition of phrenology
: the study of the conformation of the skull based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character
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Recent Examples of phrenology from the Web
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What about Holocaust denial or whatever modern incarnation of phrenology posits that black people lack sufficient intellect to vote?
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Pseudosciences like phrenology were used to politely assert the inferiority of black people.
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The movie talks a bit about the pseudoscientific lineage of this kind of thought — phrenology, eugenics and other attempts to use data to enforce social hierarchies.
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Pseudosciences such as phrenology and eugenics have attempted to ascribe a biological rationalization for the oppression of certain groups.
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This is obviously not a side of phrenology that Mr. Colicchio, who is outspoken about his progressive politics, embraces.
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This belief isn’t based on empirical evidence, but on a 19th-century hypothesis about free will that has more in common with phrenology than with our modern understanding of how brains work.
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No chemistry department would extend an invitation to an alchemist; no reputable department of psychology would entertain a lecture espousing phrenology.
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By Pankaj Mishra Back in the 19th century, powerful men legitimating cruel inequalities thought phrenology was objective.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'phrenology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of phrenology
Greek phren-, phrēn
Medical Dictionary
medical Definition of phrenology
plural phrenologies
: the former study of the conformation of the skull based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character
Learn More about phrenology
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about phrenology
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