“Saber separar lo bueno de lo malo, lo cierto de lo incierto": la frenología y los médicos catalanes, c. 1840 - c. 1860

Abstract

Franz Joseph Gall’s phrenology, a combined theory of brain and science of character, was popularised in Spain during the 1840s principally by the Catalan phrenologist Marià Cubí (1801-1875). A vehicle of transmission of scientific naturalism, phrenology appealed to Catalan medical profession, especially to those physicians who hold liberal political views. We stress the role of Pere Mata (1811-1877) and Pere Felip Monlau (1808-1871), main figures of mid-nineteenth century Spanish medicine, who appropriated many elements of the phrenological doctrine in order to build a discourse with the purpose of reforming both medicine and Spanish society.