Medical Anthropology in the Late Middle Ages: Pietro d’Abano on Body, Soul, and the Virtues

This book considers the introduction of materialist and physiological reasoning into late medieval discourse on the soul in the work of Peter of Abano (d.1316); in this, it adds a vital component to our understanding of this important period in the history of medicine and of the philosophy of human nature. Peter was an influential physician and philosopher whose activities spanned from Paris to Padua to Constantinople, where he played a vital role in the appropriation of Greek and Arabic medical and natural philosophical sources in the Latin West. In his engagement with these sources, he sought a “reconciliation” (as his most famous work, the Conciliator, was titled) of medicine and philosophy. Through this reconciliation, Peter develops a rich description of the integration of physical and spiritual operations, and of physiological and mental capacities, leading him to discussions of imagination, moral virtues, and intellectual powers. Because Peter developed many of his ideas within a traditional medical framework, he created a distinctively “medical” anthropology. His unique understanding of human nature would remain influential for centuries to come. Acknowledgements Contents List of Illustrations and Table Introduction Chapter 1 Body-Soul Relations in Medical Philosophy from Salerno to Pietro d’Abano Chapter 2 Complexion between Body and Soul Chapter 3 Spiritus, Life, and the Generation of the Soul Chapter 4 The Organic Soul and the Intellect Chapter 5 The Power of Things: Confidence and Incantations Chapter 6 The Physiology of Moral Virtue Epilogue Bibliography General Index