Phantom Pains and Prosthetic Narratives: From George Dedlow to Dante
- ISBN-10
- 1108996205
- ISBN-13
- 9781108996204
- Category
- Political Science
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2021-02-18
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Author
- Alastair Minnis
Description
'Phantom limb pain' designates the sensations which seem to emanate from limbs that in reality are missing. The phrase was coined by the American Civil War surgeon, Weir Mitchell, in reference to his fictional amputee, George Dedlow. Contemporary neuroscience holds that the brain encloses a schema which covers the whole body, and asserts its unity even if certain parts are missing. Reading backwards from Dedlow's sufferings, Alastair Minnis traces the medieval precedents and parallels, focusing on Augustine and Dante, who subscribed to the notion of a 'body in the soul'. Dante's souls in purgatory self-prosthesize with aerial phantoms as they long for the full embodiment which only the resurrection can bring. Is a complete body necessary for personhood? And how can the gamut of human feelings be run if parts or the entirety of one's body does not exist? Combining medieval studies and contemporary neuroscience, this absorbing study explores the fascinating and surprising history of phantom pain.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2021-03-31
- 75 pages
- Paperback
- Cambridge University Press
Similar books
-
Digital Cities: The Internet and the Geography of Opportunity
By Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert, William W. FrankoTimberlake, Jeffrey M., AaronJ. Howell, and Amanda Staight. 2011. “Trends in the Suburbaniza— tion of Racial/ Ethnic Groups in U.S. Metropolitan Areas, ...
-
TVA and the Tellico Dam, 1936-1979: A Bureaucratic Crisis in Post-industrial America
By William Bruce Wheeler, Michael J. McDonaldFor example , on January 12 , 1972 , the newly - formed Timberlake Advising Boardcomposed of people from TVA , Boeing , various state agencies , and local ...
-
Encyclopedia of U.S. Political History
By Andrew Robertson, Michael A. Morrison, William G. ShadeIn 1816, Margaret married John Timberlake, a ship's purser in the U.S. Navy, but her conduct continued to be criticized. According to local gossip, ...
-
Drug Control Policy: Essays in Historical and Comparative Perspective
By William O. WalkerClark, Deliver Us From Evil, 218-23; Bonnie and Whitebread, The Marihuana Conviction, 5-15, 28, 32-45; Timberlake, Prohibition and the Progressive Movement, ...
-
Economic Politics in the United States: The Costs and Risks of Democracy
By William R. KeechNor was it to actasa centralized depository, an officeof discountfor commercialbanks, ora lender of last resort” (Timberlake 1978, p. 4).
-
Milton Friedman
By William RugerRichard Timberlake likewise thought Friedman was a “scintillating teacher” (Timberlake 1999, 22). Finally, Becker noted that “no course had anywhere near ...
-
The Libertarian Illusion: Ideology, Public Policy and the Assault on the Common Good
By William E. HudsonIdeology, Public Policy and the Assault on the Common Good William E. Hudson ... 191 Timberlake, Justin, 88 Tocqueville, Alexis de, 26 Townsend, Francis, ...
-
Taxing Choice: The Predatory Politics of Fiscal Discrimination
By William Shughart IIKrauss, Melvyn B., and Edward P. Lazear, eds. 1991. Searching for Alternatives: Drug-Control ... Paul, Randolph E. 1954. ... Timberlake, James, H. 1963.
-
A Short History of American Industrial Policies
By William R. NesterRichard H. Timberlake, The Origins of Central Banking in the United States ... Industrial Policy, and Rational Ignorance,” in Claude E. Barfield and William ...
-
The Boiling Point
By Todd WerdebaughIt 's like when someone judges you that way, and I know it 's because I 'm ... the one 's they judge and criticize have to deal with the pain they cause?