Contributions to the History of Psychology: XXIV. Johann Caspar Lavater's Essays on Physiognomy

A discussion is presented of the methodological pronouncements and basic tenets of the psychology of Lavater's physiognomical system. Many of his ideas were unusual, and even revolutionary, when they were first presented. It is suggested that Franz Gall, Lavater's successor in the attempt to link character with features of the body, may well have been more influenced by his predecessor than he admitted. Such a conclusion is based on the fact that most of the atypical aspects of Lavater's work also appeared as characteristic features of Gall's phrenological theory.