Galen: On Problematical Movements: 47 (Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries, Series Number 47)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521115493 ISBN 13: 9780521115490

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011

In this forgotten treatise, preserved largely in medieval translations into Arabic and Latin, the greatest medical scientist of antiquity investigates the relationship between conscious and unconscious movements. He looks at the structure of the tongue and the oesophagus, and asks why mental perceptions can have physical effects on the body. Some of his questions still trouble modern scientists, although they would not accept most of his answers. The extensive Introduction and Commentary explain the medical background for non-medical specialists, and discuss the place of this treatise and of anatomy in medieval medicine down to Leonardo da Vinci. As well as being the first English translation of this important work, this is also the first comparative study of medieval translations of the same ancient text, and is based on new editions and collations of all three. The Commentary pays special attention to the linguistic elements involved in making these translations.

Review:

'... an in-depth and inestimable inquiry into the role and significance of Galenic science for medieval medicine ...' Aestimatio

'The reader will find excellent discussions on a wide range of topics related to anatomy, Galenic thought, and Greek medical theory ... Future readers of Galen, medical historians, students of ancient Greek and medieval medicine, philosophy, and those interested in the reception of ancient science will often visit this erudite volume, while the edition of the three translations will probably remain standard for a long time.' Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences

Book Description:

A full scholarly edition of one of the most interesting works of Galen of Pergamum, probably the most important doctor and medical thinker in antiquity, dealing with movements that seem to contradict his understanding of human physiology. This comprehensive edition renders all previous editions of this work obsolete.