An Inquiry Into The Influence Of Physical Causes Upon The Moral Faculty

Excerpt from An Inquiry Into the Influence of Physical Causes Upon the Moral Faculty: Delivered Before a Meeting of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia, on the Twenty-Seventh of February, 1786 It was for the laudable purpose of exciting a Spirit of emulation and inquiry among the members of our body, that the founders of our society instituted an annual oration. The task ofpreparing, and delivering this exercise, hath devolved, once more, upon me. I have submitted to it, not because I thought myself capable of fulfil ling your intentions, but because I wished, by a testimony of my obedience to your requests, to atone for my long absence from the temple of science. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"This fascinating volume, done in exact facsimile from the original Eighteenth Century editions, is a treasure trove of psychiatric history that is closely related to the developing intellectual and scientific like of the young new United States of America. An Inquiry into the Influence of Physical Causes upon the Moral Faculty presents Dr. Rush's exposition of how the moral faculties are subject to derangement. It reproduces the extremely rare copy in the Oskar Diethelm Historical Library of the Cornell Medical Center. The second essay. On the Influence of Physical Causes in Promoting the Strength and Activity of the Intellectual Faculties of Man, is one of Dr. Rush's lectures to his medical students at the University of Pennsylvania. It deals with what we now call physiological psychology and faculty psychology. The cases Dr. Rush presents are largely drawn from those now called "personality disorders." These essays are lively and entertaining, filled with provocative, if somewhat naive, illustrations. While not very scientific by today's standards, and not often self-contradictory, they reflect not only the rational and democratic approach to popular dissemination of scientific thought, but also Dr. Rush's attempts to explore the basic nature and problems of man. The scholarly Introduction by Dr. Eric T. Carlson, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, casts fresh light on Benjamin Rush's ideas and place in the history of psychiatry" -- Dust jacket.