| Concept/Content |
neurological basis of moral behavior / phrenology head |
| Information caption |
One can easily overstate the correspondence between brain structure and mental function, as was done in the 1800s by enthusiasts for phrenology, a theory now abandoned in disrepute. Persuaded that there were discrete personality traits that mapped onto the surface of the skull, one person claimed that in Phineas Gage's brain "the iron had passed through the regions of the organs of benevolence and veneration . . . hence his profanity, and want of respect and kindness" (Macmillan 2000, quote on p. 350). While such speculative and unsubstantiated claims about specific behaviors or traits are unwarranted, one can still hope to identify how certain areas of the brain may be associated with different dimensions of moral mental activity, as illustrated broadly in Gage's case. |
| Inquiry caption |
Consider one conclusion about Phineas Gage from the 1800s by an enthusiast for phrenology, a theory now abandoned in disrepute that discrete personality traits could be mapped onto the surface of the skull. He claimed that "the iron had passed through the regions of the organs of benevolence and veneration . . . hence his profanity, and want of respect and kindness" (Macmillan 2000, quote on p. 350). Knowing today that such behavior-specific "organs" of the brain do not exist, how should we interpret the relationship between the brain and moral behavior, as illustrated in Gage's case?
Target Concept: Moral thinking and feeling have a neurological basis. |
| Photographer |
Douglas Allchin |
| Credit |
EvolutionOfMorality.net |
| SIZE in pixels [file size] |
376x580 |
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