Description
Book SynopsisCerebral subjectivitythe identification of the individual self with the brainis a belief that has become firmly entrenched in modern science and popular culture. In The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity, Jessica Wright traces its roots to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used these ideas for teaching ascetic practices, developing therapeutics for the soul, and finding a path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to religious discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed by creatively integrating them.
Trade Review"This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read." * CHOICE *
"Highly original... [a] beautifully written study of the concept of the brain as a powerful and multi-functional tool." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Table of ContentsContents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Circulation and Performance of Medical Knowledge in Late Antiquity
2. The History of the Brain in Ancient Greek Medicine and Philosophy
3. The Invention of Ventricular Localization
4. The Governing Brain
5. The Rhetoric of Cerebral Vulnerability
6. Insanity, Vainglory, and Phrenitis
7. Humanizing the Brain in Early Christianity
Conclusion
Notes
Works Cited
Index
