Behind the Bastards

Part Two: Phrenology: The Bastard Science of Racism

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Dec 6, 2018
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INSIGHT

Phrenology As Justification For Empire

  • Phrenology supplied a scientific veneer for colonial ideology and duty.
  • Robert Evans links Rudyard Kipling's "white man's burden" thinking to phrenologic logic.
INSIGHT

Medicine Framed As A Tool Of Empire

  • Colonial medicine framed Western science as a civilizing gift to justify occupation.
  • Robert Evans cites Ronald Ross and the claim that imperialism would rely on microscopes and medical advances.
INSIGHT

Phrenology Invented Race‑Ranking Language

  • Phrenology created a new language to rank human groups by 'grades' and skull shapes.
  • Sir Francis Galton's phrasing normalized rating races as inherently superior or inferior.
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