Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 467

RENé DESCARTES (1596-1650) Passiones animae. Apud Ludovicum Elzevirium 1650 [23] 98 [5] pp. 20.2 cm.

Cartesian physiology and philosophy had a powerful influence on the thinking of such men as Robert Hooke, Giovanni Borelli, Jan Swammerdam, and Thomas Willis. Descartes' theories helped to explain in understandable mechanistic terms the more puzzling problems of human physiology during a time when scientific research was expanding rapidly. This work, written for Queen Christina of Sweden, was first published in French a year before this Latin edition appeared. It was the last book that Descartes wrote, and in it he discusses psychology, ethics, and the relationship between mind and body.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4965 (French ed., 1649); Wellcome II, p. 453

Gift of John Martin, M.D.