Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

GALL, Franz Joseph (1758-1828)

Franz Joseph Gall, a German anatomist, physiologist, and physician, was born in Tiefenbronn and educated in medicine at the universities of Strasbourg and Vienna where he received an extensive scientific background. He started practice in Vienna in 1785. He believed there existed a relationship between the size and shape of the skull and mental faculties and character, and that the examination of the skull would reveal exact information about the brain's function.

He transformed his belief into the study of phrenology. Although it was anatomically unsound, it gained wide acceptance. Gall began lecturing on phrenology in 1796, but by 1802 the government with the persuasion of the Roman Catholic Church ordered him to discontinue his lectures. Five years later he settled in Paris continuing to practice medicine and working on phrenology despite an unfavourable report on his work by the Institute of France.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc