| The Cartesian doctor, François Bayle (1622-1709), on psychosomatic explanation. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21486659 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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There are two standing, incompatible accounts of Descartes' contributions to the study of psychosomatic phenomena that pervade histories of medicine, psychology, and psychiatry. The first views Descartes as the father of "rational psychology" a tradition that defines the soul as a thinking, unextended substance. The second account views Descartes as the father of materialism and the machine metaphor. The consensus is that Descartes' studies of optics and motor reflexes and his conception of the body-machine metaphor made early and important contributions to physiology and neuroscience but otherwise his impact was minimal. These predominately negative assessments of Descartes' contributions give a false impression of the role his philosophy played in the development of medicine and psychiatry in seventeenth-century France and beyond. I explore Descartes' influence in the little-known writings of a doctor from Toulouse, François Bayle (1622-1709). A study of Bayle gives us occasion to rethink the nature and role of psychosomatic explanation in Descartes' philosophy. The portrait I present is of a Cartesian science that had an actual and lasting effect on medical science and practice, and may offer something of value to practitioners today. |
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Authors:
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Patricia Easton |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article Date: 2011-02-05 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences Volume: 42 ISSN: 1879-2499 ISO Abbreviation: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Publication Date: 2011 Jun |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-04-13 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9810965 Medline TA: Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 203-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
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Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
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Claremont Graduate University, Department of Philosophy, 121 East Tenth Street, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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