The fourth section on brain and behavior considers (a) William Porterfield’s thoughts on vision, and three essays in speculative philosophy of neuroscience, (b) a discussion of David Hartley’s vibration theory, (c) a discussion of Charles Bonnet’s vibration theory and an analysis of Emanuel Swedenborg’s century-too-soon thoughts on localization of brain function. The third section contains a series of papers focusing on the nervous system, with (a) an exegesis of John Hunter’s work, (b) the contributions of William Cullen and Robert Whytt, (c) a detailed analysis of the physiological and anatomical work of Pourfour du Petit, (d) the debate between Albrecht Haller and Robert Whytt concerning the mechanism of muscle contraction and two essays on developments in animal electricity during this epoch, (e) the early history starting with observations of the electric ray, and (f) the later contributions of Luigi Galvani, medical man and scientist.
This is followed by a background section of essays on (a) brain and mind in the long 18 th century, (b) the role of microscopes and microscopy in this period, (c) the nature of 18th century medical education and the place of voluntary hospitals and (d) an illustration of late-18 th century medicine, discussing the early career of James Parkinson as an example. The opening section of Brain, Mind and Medicine: Neuroscience in the 18 th Century sets forth a temporal chronology for the long 18 th century. There are six sections, each preceded by a short introduction. The editors have deliberately adopted a "presentist" subtitle, "neuroscience", to emphasize that this collection of essays reflect a range of current thought about 18 th century-studies of the nervous system in isolation and in context. This is the "long 18 th century", a period which exhibits multiple discourses in medicine, brain science and philosophy. Ideas we associate with the 18 th century are clearly seen in work published from the latter decades of the 17 th century through the first decades of the 19 th century.
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