2010/02/12 by C. E. McMahon · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · #Mental Health and Psychiatry #History of Science and Medicine #Neurology and Historical Studies
paper · doi:10.1159/000286921
openalex publication_date 2010/02/12 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/19
When Cartesian dualism became a determining philosophical basis of medical theory, psychosomatic events became logical impossibilities. In the nineteenth century, physicians confronted with a class of such events - battle casualties without externally inflicted injuries - sought mechanistic interpretations in the 'wind' of the cannon ball. Those who rejected these ineffective hypotheses were forced to deny the existence of such casualties. Today we acknowledge the existence of psychosomatic events. The logical barrier to understanding them, however, remains at the basis of medical theory and must be eradicated.