1st Edition
A Cultural History of Medical Vitalism in Enlightenment Montpellier
By Elizabeth A. Williams
Copyright 2003
384 Pages
by
Routledge
384 Pages
by
Routledge
384 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
One of the key themes of the Enlightenment was the search for universal laws and truths that would help illuminate the workings of the universe. It is in such attitudes that we trace the origins of modern science and medicine. However, not all eighteenth century scientists and physicians believed that such universal laws could be found, particularly in relation to the differences between living... Read more
Contents: Introduction; A medical town: Montpellier in the 18th century; A university in the Enlightenment: the University of Medicine of Montpellier; Boissier de Sauvages and the emergence of vitalism in Montpellier; The ascent to Paris: Montpellier physicians in the capital of enlightenment; Vitalism and the encyclopedist movement; Time of troubles: the university-court connection in the late Ancien Régime; Semiotics, smallpox, sex: from the practical to the philosophical in vitalist medicine; Barthez and the "Science of Man"; Vitalism in the late Enlightenment; Conclusion: the end of the Enlightenment and the eclipse of Montpellier; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Elizabeth A. Williams
'Williams's book promises to remain the standard account of the subject for some time to come.' Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 'This very informative and thought-provoking book should be a must read for eighteenth-century scholars...' New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century 'A Cultural History of Medical Vitalism in Enlightenment Montpellier is, in short, a triumph: it is enormously informative, intensely researched, and written with considerable style and wit.' Metascience 'This is, quite simply, an admirable book...' Early Science and Medicine
