The brain, en masse, the _encephalon_, is then a multiple organ; and
this multiple organ consists of four particular organs: the cerebellum,
the seat of the principle that regulates the movements of locomotion; the
tubercula quadrigemina, seats of the principle that regulates the sense
of sight; the medulla oblongata, in which resides the principle that
determines the respiratory motions; and the brain proper, the seat, and
the exclusive seat of the intelligence.[21]
Therefore, when the phrenologists promiscuously place the intellectual
and moral faculties in the brain, considered en masse, they deceive
themselves. Neither the cerebellum, the quadrigeminal tubercles, nor
the medulla oblongata can be regarded as seats of these faculties. All
these faculties dwell solely in the brain, properly so called, or the
hemispheres.
The question as to the precise seat of the intelligence, has undergone a
great change since the time of Gall. Gall believed that the intelligence
was seated indifferently in the whole encephalon, and it has been proved
that it resides only in the hemispheres.
Further, it is not the encephalon taken en masse that is developed in
the ratio of the intelligence of the creature, but the hemispheres.
The mammifera are the animals most highly endowed with intelligence;
they have, other things being equal, the most voluminous hemispheres.
Birds are the animals most highly endowed with power of motion; their
cerebellum is, other things being equal, the largest. Reptiles are the
most torpid and apathetic of animals; they have the smallest brain, &c.
Every thing concurs then to prove, that the encephalon, in mass, is a
multiple organ with multiple functions, consisting of different parts, of
which some are destined to subserve the locomotive motions, others the
motions of the respiration, &c., while one single one, the brain proper,
is designed for the purposes of the intellection.
This being conceded, it is evident that the entire brain cannot be
divided, as the phrenologists divide it, into a number of small organs,
each of which is the seat of a distinct intellectual faculty; for
the entire brain does not serve the purposes of what is called the
intelligence. The hemispheres alone are the seats of the intellectual
power; and consequently, the question as to whether the organ, the seat
of the intelligence may be divided into several distinct organs, is a
question relative solely to the uses and powers of the hemispheres.
Gall avers, and this is the second fundamental proposition of his
doctrine, that the brain is divided into several organs, each one of
which lodges a particular faculty of the soul. By the word _brain_, he
understood the _whole brain_, and he thus deceived himself. Let us reduce
the application of his proposition to the hemispheres alone, and we
shall see that he has deceived himself again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account