The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity - by Jessica L Wright (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The care of the brain in early Christianity is a history of the brain during late antiquity. Through close attention to ancient medical material and its transformation in Christian texts, Jessica Wright traces the roots of cerebral subjectivity--the identification of the individual self with the brain, a belief very much still with us today--to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used the vulnerability of the brain as a trope for teaching ascetic practices, therapeutics of the soul, and the path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to the religous discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed through creatively integrating them"--Publisher's website.

Book Synopsis

Cerebral subjectivity--the identification of the individual self with the brain--is a belief that has become firmly entrenched in modern science and popular culture. In The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity, Jessica Wright traces its roots to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used these ideas for teaching ascetic practices, developing therapeutics for the soul, and finding a path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to religious discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed by creatively integrating them.

From the Back Cover

"Surpassingly well-researched and beautifully written, TheCare of the Brain uncovers surprising new facets of ancient Christian thought. Jessica Wright argues persuasively that the brain--unmentioned in the New Testament--was nevertheless a necessary concept for the development of early Christian culture, especially ascetic practice."--Ellen Muehlberger, author of Moment of Reckoning: Imagined Death in Late Ancient Christianity

"A highly original and impressive piece of work, timely in its topic and methodology and updated on the scholarly status quo in classics, ancient medicine, and philosophy of the body."--Chiara Thumiger, Cluster of Excellence ROOTS, Kiel University

"A worthy publication that will find an audience among specialists in both early Christianity and ancient medicine as well as those interested in intellectual history, the history of psychology, and the body."--Andrew Crislip, Professor of History at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Thorns in the Flesh: Illness and Sanctity in Late Christianity

Review Quotes

"The fusion of ideas about reason and governance in the brain within early Christian thought forms an unexplored but crucial stage in the history of the brain as the putative key to what it means to be human. The book describes how this process unfolded in the images and arguments of early Christian texts from ca. 200 to 600 c.e."-- "New Testament Abstracts"

"While this book will be of interest to scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine, the monograph's implications are more far-reaching."-- "Reading Religion"

"This is a valuable study, carefully and comprehensively researched, beautifully written and well produced, of importance to many fields including the history of science, psychology, western culture and Christianity. It deserves a wide readership." -- "THE CLASSICAL REVIEW"

"Highly original... [a] beautifully written study of the concept of the brain as a powerful and multi-functional tool."-- "Bryn Mawr Classical Review"

"This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read."-- "CHOICE"

About the Author

Jessica L. Wright is an independent researcher.