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Historical Bibliography Updated: February 4, 2020

Two treatises in the one of which the nature of bodies, in the other, the nature of mans soule is looked into in way of discovery of the immortality of reasonable soules.

Publication Details

Paris: Printed by Gilles Blaizot, 1644 CE.

"Digby's Two Treatises was intended to prove the immortality of the rational soul and its distinction from the material body, a dualistic view shared by many of his contemporaries. the work is noteworthy on several counts: it contains the first fully developed atomistic system of the seventeenth century, the first important defense in English of Harvey's theory of the circulation, imporant discussions of reflex action and embryological development, and account of the first patch test for allergy, the fullest early account in English of teaching the deaf to lip read, and material on behavioral conditioning that anticipates the work of Pavlov. Digby's introduction of Gassendian and Cartesian atomism into England provided Boyle and Newton with the foundation for their achievements in chemistry and physics" (Norman Library, 639).

Digital text from Early English Books Online at this link.

Catalog MetadataReference Information
Entry Number#11581
Permanent Linkhttps://staging.historyofmedicine.com/entry/13780
Author Bio LinkWikipedia ↗
External URLtwo-treatises-in-the-one-of-which-the-nature-of-bodies-in-the-other-the-nature-of-mans-soule-is-looked-into-in-way-of-discovery-of-the-immortality-of-reasonable-soules

Geographic Context

Publication place: Paris