Time in the Ancient World: Medical and Psychological Perspectives (Issn, 3)

The book presents the author's latest research on ancient perceptions of time; it centres on medical discussions, especially of the doctor-philosopher Galen, while also contextualizing his work within Graeco-Roman evidence and discussions - archaeological, medical, technological, philosophical, literary - more broadly. The focus is on questions of medical or experiential significance: life cycles, disease cycles, daily regimes for mind and body, clinical assessment, including the vital area of diagnosis through the pulse, technologies of time measurement. But the philosophical background is also examined: questions of the nature and definition of time and its relationship to space and motion. Galen offers original contributions in all these areas, at the same time as shedding important light on both contemporary attitudes and previous discussions. The book thus offers an accessible and vivid overview of key issues in ancient time perception and awareness, while also offering the first in-depth exploration of the insights that the Galenic texts add to this picture. Five thematic chapters - Time Measurement, Year and Life Cycles, Biography, Medical Cycles - consider a wide range of evidence and of recent scholarship, while highlighting the contribution of medical texts. The book presents the author's latest research on ancient perceptions of time; it centres on medical discussions, especially of the doctor-philosopher Galen, while also contextualizing his work within Graeco-Roman evidence and discussions : archaeological, medical, technological, philosophical, literary more broadly. The focus is on questions of medical or experiential significance: life cycles, disease cycles, daily regimes for mind and body, clinical assessment, including the vital area of diagnosis through the pulse, technologies of time measurement. But the philosophical background is also examined: questions of the nature and definition of time and its relationship to space and motion. Galen offers original contributions in all these areas, at the same time as shedding important light on both contemporary attitudes and previous discussions. The book thus offers an accessible and vivid overview of key issues in ancient time perception and awareness, while also offering the first in-depth exploration of the insights that the Galenic texts add to this picture.--publisher's website 9783110752397 1 9783110752397 2 Acknowledgements 6 Preface 8 Contents 14 List of Illustrations 16 List of Tables 18 Chapter One: Time measurement, time management: days, hours and routines 20 Chapter Two: Times of life and times of year: the ever-shifting cycles 54 Chapter Three: Lives in time: history, biography, bibliography 86 Chapter Four: Time for the doctor: crises, perils and opportunities 121 Chapter Five: Time, motion, rhythm: reality, perception and quantification 142 Bibliography 184 Index of names 200 General index 203 Chronoi: Time, Time Awareness, Time Management is a book series that presents the work of the Einstein Center Chronoi. The center is dedicated to the investigation of time and time-related subjects such as time awareness, time management, time perception, and temporality from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives.