The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity is a history of the brain during late antiquity. Through close attention to ancient medical material and its transformation in Christian texts, Jessica Wright traces the roots of cerebral subjectivity—the identification of the individual self with the brain, a belief very much still with us today—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 the vulnerability of the brain as a trope for teaching ascetic practices, therapeutics of the soul, and the path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to the religious discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed through creatively integrating them.
By:
Jessica L. Wright
Imprint: University of California Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 544g
ISBN: 9780520387676
ISBN 10: 0520387678
Pages: 310
Publication Date: 11 April 2023
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Contents 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
Jessica L. Wright is an independent researcher.
Reviews for The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity
"""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 *"
