In this paper, it is discussed the origins of the concepts of intelligence and intellectual disability from the European context and its influences in the Brazilian school scene. It is a bibliographical research based on the studies of Alfred Binet on the measurement of intelligence and "abnormality" in dialogue with the contemporary scientific literature. From the analysis carried out, we have highlighted the influence of the European context on the Brazilian Special Education. It has also been shown that these concepts have the same origins and were forged in the context of a medical-psychological science, justified by a republican ideology as a "solution" of the Brazilian educational problems of that time.