3. Phrenology and physiognonty.—We must first briefly examine the pretensions of two pseudo sciences, phrenology and physiognomy. The phre nologist professes to be able to read a man's char acter by an examination of his cranium. The physiognomist looks for the evidence of character in the face, laying stress upon the size and shape of the nose, the size of the mouth, the thickness of the lips, the chin, the ears, the jaw, etc.
These two sciences are called pseudo, or false, for the reason that their conclusions are based upon im perfect inductions. Phrenology, for example, locates the memmy near the center of the forehead, and the ability to judge of color, size and form just over the eyes; philoprogenitiveness, or love of children, ama tiveness, love of the other sex, combativeness and de structiveness are indicated by bumps in the back part of the bead. Veneration and benevolence are shown by bumps at the top of the head in the front. A man with a high forehead, full at the extreme right and left, will have great imaginative power and lean toward poetry and the arts.
The trouble with these assertions of the phrenolo gist is that they have not been proved by careful or scientific observation. The psychologists say they cannot be proved. The mind, says the psychologist, is a complex thing; what the mental reaction of a man will be in the presence of a given stimulus can not possibly be inferred by the presence or absence of any single quality. In all their actions men are con trolled by a complex of motives or desires. The psychologist, therefore, is inclined to treat the claims of phrenologists with scorn.
Physiognomy is also denied admittance into the high courts of science. That thick lips alNvays indi cate sensuality or love of pleasure, that the small "snub" nose is a sign of weak will, that the prominent chin or jaw must mean firmness or obstinacy, the scientific psychologists will not admit, for these state ments have not been verified by repeated and impar tial observation.
The business man need not concern himself much about the claims of phrenology and physiognomy. Even tho it were granted that there is a large meas ure of truth in the claims of both of these so-called sciences, it would be impossible for the average busi ness man to master the technique necessary for a fruit ful application of their principles. The best he could
do would be to engage a properly trained employ ment manager or a professional phrenologist or physi ognomist to pass on the men whose characters be wishes to be sure about, but even then he would be obliged to rely upon himself in his dealings with men who were not his employes.
Phrenology and physiognomy, altho we call them pseudo-sciences, are undoubtedly based upon a multi tude of hit-and-miss observations by all sorts of peo ple. If a stranger has a high and full forehead, we expect him to be intellectual; and if at the same time his lips are full and red, we shall be surprised if he does not greatly enjoy the pleasures of the table, for Ile has what the Yankees call a "pie mouth." If his neck is small and the back of his head rather flat, we shall not expect him to be a very affectionate hus band or father. We reach these conclusions involun tarily without a thought of either phrenology or physi ognomy, and we are all ready to change. our opinion if later we discover that our first impressions were er roneous.
It is a fact that we do make judgments of people based on the shapes of their heads and the contour and expression of their faces. We do this just as the un scientific farmer judges as to ivhat crop he shall plant in a certain field, or just as the old sailor reads the signs of the weather. The sailor and the farm- er are both unscientific, but they astonish us by the fre quency with which they "guess" right. So in sizing up a stranger, if we have had much experience with men, it is quite proper for us to rely on the impression he makes upon us in the first interview.
We must get our ability to judge men mainly thru our own experience. One who has had little experi ence with life and who has met but few people would be completely bewildered if he were suddenly brought into contact with large numbers of people. That is one of the reasons why farmers and respected citizens from small towns are so easily deceived and "bun- . coed" when they get into the chaos of a large city.