Mariano Cubí y Soler’s phrenological examination of Eusebio Güell y Bacigalupi (first Count of Güell)

J. Peña-Casanova, A. García-Molina
Neurosciences and History 2021;9(1):37-46

Type of article: REVIEW

AUTHORS

J. Peña-Casanova^1,2,3, A. García-Molina^4,5,6
1Behavioural neurology research group. Fundación Institut Mar de Investigaciones Médicas (FIMIM), Barcelona, Spain.
²Psychiatric and Legal Medicine Department. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
³Behavioural Neurology and Dementia Unit. Hospital del Mar, Parc Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
⁴Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació (UAB), Badalona, Spain.
⁵Fundació Institut d’Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Spain.
⁶Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.

ABSTRACT

Introduction. In the early 19th century, phrenology forced the scientific community to reconsider the physiology of the cerebral cortex, marking the beginning of the era of cortical localisation of brain functions. However, it quickly lost scientific support, becoming a popular pseudoscience whose principles were used as a tool for social and individual change. The so-called practical phrenologists brought visibility to the practice through books, public courses, and phrenology examinations; Mariano Cubí y Soler (1801-1875) was the main representative of this current in Spain. This study describes Cubí’s report of his phrenological examination of Eusebio Güell y Bacigalupi (1846-1918) on 13 April 1868.

Development. Cubí’s phrenological doctrine establishes that there were 47 faculties or brain organs, grouped into four classes: 1) faculties of external contact, 2) faculties of external knowledge, 3) faculties of moral perception and action, and 4) faculties of universal relation. His phrenological examination of Güell comprises two parts, the analysis and the synthesis. In the analysis, Cubí determined the sizes of the 47 brain organs; based on the information collected, he drafted the synthesis, a description of Güell’s talents and character.

Conclusions. The document analysed in this article constitutes a synthesis of practical phrenology as a system of work and as a means of drawing conclusions.

KEYWORDS

Phrenology, mind, brain, Gall, Mariano Cubí, 19th century

Neurosciences and History 2021;9(1):37-46