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

by Stewart Wolf

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Author: Stewart Wolf

Publisher: Routledge

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 1138519758
ISBN 13: 978-1138519756

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.

Review

“Wolf presents Richet’s accomplishments in a highly readable book, describing both the social and medical influences on Richet’s career… Wolf’s penetrating analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of this highly influential polymath will engage advanced readers interested in physiology and the history of medicine.”

—G. B. Rollman, Choice

“Richet (1850-1935) was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1912 for his discovery of anaphylaxis, but his other contributions in gastric secretion, immunology, serotherapy, calorimetry and neurology, never received the recognition for originality he often thought they deserved . . . [Brain, Mind, and Medicine] contains important material... This text convinces one of the intrinsic importance of Richet as a subject of study in the history of French Physiology. The array of his work, his methods, ideas, and professional associations penetrate deeply into many aspects of the research-medical world of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.”

—Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences

“One becomes fascinated, seduced . . . [by Wolf’s] clear and engaging style.”

—Alain Alarcan, National Academy of Medicine in Paris

"Although I had learned a certain amount about Richet before reading Wolf's book, and had talked to several persons who had known him, I had no idea of the full range of his activities and interests. To present them all systematically and impartially, as Wolf has done, and to sketch in the backgrounds from which they arose, is a feat requiring considerable scholarship and much labor. If rekindling one's interest in a certain person, and inclining one to turn again to his readings, are measures of a good biography, this one more than passes the tests."

—Alan Gould, University of Nottingham

"[Brain, Mind and Medicine] brings to light a great deal of information about Richet and leaves the reader convinced that his further study promises to teach much about the development of physiology and Third Republic France."

—Kim Pelis, Johns Hopkins University

About the Author

Stewart Wolf (1914-2005) was professor of medicine at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and director of the Totts Gap Medical Research Laboratories. Before his tenure at Temple University, he headed the department of medicine at the University of Oklahoma. He authored, edited, or co-authored numerous books, including Social Environment and Health, The Stomach, and Educating Doctors.

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