1st Edition

Brain, Mind, and Medicine Charles Richet and the Origins of Physiological Psychology

By Stewart Wolf Copyright 1993
    251 Pages
    by Routledge

    233 Pages
    by Routledge

    Charles Richet was one of the most remarkable figures in the history of medical science. He is best known for his work on the body's immune reactions to foreign substances for which he won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1913. Richet was also a poet, playwright, historian, bibliographer, political activist, classical scholar, and pioneer in aircraft design.

    Brain, Mind, and Medicine is the first major biography of Richet in any language. Wolf brilliantly situates Richet's work in the intellectual currents of Europe during the latter half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Richet was a contemporary of Wilhelm Wundt and William James. All three considered psychology to be an aspect of physiology governed by biological laws. But while James and Wundt considered consciousness as a process influenced by experience without much reference to neural structures, Richet's focus was on the brain itself as shaped by genetics and experience and serving as the organ of the mind.

    Brain, Mind, and Medicine illuminates a significant chapter in scientific and cultural history. It should be read by medical scientists, historians, and individuals interested in medicine and psychology.

    1: Charles Richet’s Background and the Shaping of His Endeavor 1850-1869; 2: Postrevolutionary Developments That Influenced Richet and His Work; 3: Education in Medicine and Science 1869-1878; 4: The Competitive Young Physiologist 1878-1887; 5: The Young Professor 1887-1902; 6: Achievement and Acclaim 1902-1914; 7: The Dedicated Pacifist and Patriot 1914-1925; 8: The Final Decade 1925–1935; 9: Coda

    Biography

    Robert Guskind