Overview
- Provides a full account of the concept of fiber and fiber theory in eighteenth-century British medicine.
- Offers an innovative look at the ways the body was no longer seen as an amalgam of the four humors but was believed to be woven of the solid fibers.
- Challenges the widely held assumption that the eighteenth century was the age of the nerve and instead offers an alternative model of fiber.
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About this book
This book provides a full account of the concept of fiber and fiber theory in eighteenth-century British medicine. It explores the pivotal role fiber played as a defining, underlying concept in anatomy, physiology, pathology, therapeutics, psychology, and the life sciences. With the gradual demise of ancient humoralism, the solid fibers appeared on the medical scene both as the basic building unit of the body and as a dynamic agent of life. As such, fiber stands at the heart of eighteenth-century medicine, both iatromechanism and iatro-vitalism. Touching on the cultural aspects of fiber, the Baroque, and the culture of sensibility, this book also challenges the widely held assumption that the eighteenth century was the age of the nerve and instead offers an alternative model of fiber.
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Keywords
Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Prelude to the Fiber Body in the Latter Half of the Seventeenth Century, c.1650–1700
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Front Matter
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The Fiber Body in Eighteenth-Century Medicine
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Hisao Ishizuka is Professor in the Department of English at Senshu University, Japan. He is widely published in journals including Medical History, History of Science and Literature and Medicine.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Fiber, Medicine, and Culture in the British Enlightenment
Authors: Hisao Ishizuka
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-93268-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-58092-4Published: 18 November 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-93270-2Published: 01 October 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-1-349-93268-9Published: 17 November 2016
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXIV, 276
Topics: Cultural and Media Studies, general, History of Medicine, History of Biology, History of Psychology