Eventuality (phrenology)

Eventuality is a faculty from the discipline of phrenology, which rules the factual memory: the memory for facts and events. It can also be referred to as the historical faculty, and it is reflected in a desire to know and to be informed. The localization is between "individuality" and "comparison."

Definition

Eventuality is one of the several organs that make up the pseudo science of phrenology in which bumps on the outside of the skull provide insight to the character of individuals and aspects of personality. The organs or “bumps” are also referred to as faculties

Size

It is associated with the “recollection of actions, phenomena, occurrences, what has taken place, circumstantial and historical facts”.^[1] Furthermore, there are classifications that relate the size of the eventuality to memory recollection. When the eventuality is of average size it has neither a good or bad memory of occurrences. When it is classified as “full” the brain is more retentive and “recollects leading events, and interesting particulars, and has a good memory of occurrences, yet forgets less important details”. A large eventuality “has a clear and retentive memory of historical facts, general news what he has seen heard, read even in detail. A very large eventuality will never forget a single occurrence because they have a passionate desire for information”.^[2] Since Eventuality is located in the center of the forehead, a larger faculty will result in a fuller and rounded protuberance emanating from the forehead.

Orientation

Eventuality is commonly associated with another phrenology organ, Individuality. The International Cyclopaedia of 1898 relates these two organs to language by classifying Individuality as the faculty of nouns while Eventuality is the faculty of verbs. While Individuality focuses on perception of existing things, Eventuality perceives more informational criteria such as motion, change, events, and history.^[3] Such descriptions of motion might include phrases such as the block falls, the horse gallops, and the river runs. It can be expected that while these two organs are very closely related that they also share a close proximity in location. Eventuality and Individuality are separated via the organ Locality. Eventuality is also enclosed laterally by the organ Time and superiorly by the organ Comparison.^[4]

Primary Roles

The Eventuality organ is anatomically situated in the center of the forehead and it is suspected that those who are gifted with Eventuality and Individuality are among the most powerful and intellectual of minds.^[2] In general, Eventuality is the organ with a primary role of “recollection of facts, events, occurrences, experiments, history, news, information, circumstances, and business transactions”.^[2] It is said that the organ of Eventuality is in fact two organs with separate roles. One organ is primarily responsible for remembering childhood experiences while the other recollects more recent information and communications. Of the intellectual beings that possess a large Eventuality, children are noted as having this largely developed organ and it feeds their desire for stories and imagination as well as observing. These characteristics can be deficient in those with a less developed Eventuality and those individuals will experience lowered observational skills and deprived recollection of information and memory.

 

References

1. Chambers, W (1884). Chamber's information for the people. London.
2. Fowler, O.S. (1846). Fowler's practical phrenology. New York: Kearney.
3. Richardson, C.F. (1898). The international cyclopedia: A compendium of human knowledge. Dodd: Mead & Company.
4. Smith, S. (1838). The principles of phrenology. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Company.