Matters of the Heart - History, Medicine, and Emotion (Paperback)

The heart is the most symbolic organ of the human body. Across cultures it is seen as the site of emotions, as well as the origin of life. We feel emotions in the heart, from the heart-stopping sensation of romantic love to the crushing sensation of despair. And yet since the nineteenth century the heart has been redefined in medical terms as a pump, an organ responsible for the circulation of the blood. Emotions have been removed from the heart as an active site of influence and towards the brain. It is the brain that is the organ most commonly associated with emotion in the modern West. So why, then, do the emotional meanings of the heart linger? Why do many transplantation patients believe that the heart, for instance, can transmit memories and emotions and why do we still refer to emotions as 'heartfelt'? We cannot answer these questions without reference to the history of the heart as both physical organ and emotional symbol. Matters of the Heart traces the ways emotions have been understood between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries as both physical entities and spiritual experiences. With reference to historical interpretations of such key concepts as gender, emotion, subjectivity and the self, it also addresses the shifting relationship from heart to brain as competing centres of emotion in the West.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	2012
First published:	March 2012
Authors:	Fay Bound Alberti
Dimensions:	216 x 137 x 13mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	240
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-960604-7
Categories:	Books > Medicine > General issues > History of medicine Books > Medicine > Clinical & internal medicine > Neurology & clinical neurophysiology Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Promotions
LSN:	0-19-960604-8
Barcode:	9780199606047

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