Abstract

This fine book tells an important story of how long-standing notions about the body as dominated by spirit-like humors were transformed into scientific descriptions of its solid tissues. Vesalius, Harvey, Descartes, Willis, and Locke all played roles in this transformation, as the cerebral hemispheres and cranial nerves began to take precedence over the role of spirit, passion, and the heart in human thought and behavior. Non of this occurred in a social vacuum, and the book describes the historical context clearly. It also shows how debates over investigative methods and models of body order that first raged over 300 years ago continue to influence biomedicine and the broader culture today. No other book on western mind-body relationships has attempted this.