On the medical history of the doctrine of imagination

Fischer-Homberger, Esther (1979). On the medical history of the doctrine of imagination. Psychological medicine, 9(4), pp. 619-628. Cambridge University Press 10.1017/S003329170003395X

Preview

Text S003329170003395X.pdf - Published Version Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (970kB) | Preview

In the early moderera the notion of imagination was made responsible for phenomena which were later explained in terms of embryology, genetics, psychology, bacteriology or other scientific disciplines. Images, often seated in the upper abdomen (hypochondriac region) or the womb (hysteria), were regarded as powerful influences on material reality. In the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the hypochondriac forms of imagination became mere whims and spleens, but they kept much of their original potency in respect of the uterus, accounting for monstrosities and the shaping of human offspring. The hysterical conversion of imagination into somatic phenomena has never been questioned. Since the two World Wars the realm of imagination has again expanded beyond the uterus and the older disease-concepts. In the last 10–20 years images seem to have regained some of their original creative force.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

303 since deposited on 16 Jul 2020
93 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item