Overview
The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity is a history of the brain during late antiquity. Through close attention to ancient medical material and its transformation in Christian texts, Jessica Wright traces the roots of cerebral subjectivity—the identification of the individual self with the brain, a belief very much still with us today—to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used the vulnerability of the brain as a trope for teaching ascetic practices, therapeutics of the soul, and the path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to the religious discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed through creatively integrating them.
Full Product Details
Author: Jessica L. Wright
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.544kg
ISBN: 9780520387676
ISBN 10: 0520387678
Pages: 310
Publication Date: 13 December 2022
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"""This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read."" * CHOICE * ""Highly original... [a] beautifully written study of the concept of the brain as a powerful and multi-functional tool."" * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"
"""This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read."" * CHOICE * ""Highly original... [a] beautifully written study of the concept of the brain as a powerful and multi-functional tool."" * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * ""This is a valuable study, carefully and comprehensively researched, beautifully written and well produced, of importance to many fields including the history of science, psychology, western culture and Christianity. It deserves a wide readership."" * THE CLASSICAL REVIEW * ""While this book will be of interest to scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine, the monograph’s implications are more far-reaching."" * Reading Religion *"
"""This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read."" * CHOICE *"
Author Information
Jessica L. Wright is an independent researcher.
