Cephalism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A theoretical or philosophical viewpoint prioritizing the head or intellect as the most important part of a being or concept ; a bias or emphasis on cranial attributes or mental faculties over other aspects ; the belief in superiority based on skull shape or brain prominence
2. An attitude or ideology that elevates the brain or skull region above physical or emotional elements ; a tendency to value cognitive or intellectual traits more heavily than bodily or sensory ones ; a concept often linked to judging individuals by cranial measurements or shapes
3. The principle or belief that the head, especially the brain, is central to identity or value ; an emphasis on mental capacity or cerebral characteristics in comparison to other bodily features ; sometimes associated with the idea that skull form determines human traits or status

Etymology: "Cephalism" is a plain formation: the combining form "cephal-", from Greek "kephalē" meaning "head", joined to the suffix "-ism", which marks a doctrine, system or characteristic attitude. The suffix does the conceptual work, turning a bodily part into a belief system, so the word names an emphasis on the head or intellect over the rest of a person or idea. The same "cephal-" element appears in older medical and anatomical terms such as "cephalic" (relating to the head) and "cephalopod" (a creature whose feet sit around its head, such as the octopus). The word is therefore less a folk term than a modern coinage built from classical building blocks, in the manner of many scientific and philosophical labels.

Synonyms: head-centeredness

Antonyms: egalitarianism