Premium
Mind‐body concepts in the middle ages: Part I. The classical background and its merging with the Judeo‐Christian tradition in the early middle ages
Author(s) -
Mora George
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197810)14:4<344::aid-jhbs2300140406>3.0.co;2-h
Subject(s) - middle ages , mysticism , naturalism , islam , mentally retarded , naturalistic observation , epistemology , mind–body problem , philosophy , christian tradition , psychoanalysis , sociology , psychology , religious studies , theology , social psychology , developmental psychology
The application of a new broader and interdisciplinary methodological approach to the study of the mind‐body issue has led to a reassessment of a narrow view of medieval psychology. Although deeply rooted in the classical tradition, the emerging Judeo‐Christian personalistic emphasis resulted in a novel mystical and symbolic view of man. The succeeding spread of the Islamic culture had the effect of reinserting naturalistic themes on such a view and, eventually, of culminating in the great theological syntheses of the thirteenth century. Although the mentally ill were largely ignored in the Middle Ages, some of the basic attitudes related to the later treatment of mental illness can be traced to medieval times.