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Spirits of Life and Perception
Albert the Great's Early and Mature Psychophysiology in Light of His Arabic Sources
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Does a plant shrink at night and swell in the day, like an animal breathing in and out? For a long time, the Galenic concept of spiritus provided a causal explanation for human and animal life and perception. Albert the Great (1200-1280), whose honorific acknowledges among other things his pioneering work on biology, extended the concept to plants. This is only one of the remarkable concepts studied in this book, the first comparative study of Albert's concept of spiritus. It unveils the Arabic roots of his early psychophysiology and the original developments found in his mature Aristotelian paraphrases.
Michele Meroni, Ph.D. (2021), University of Milano-LMU München, is Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Pavia. He currently works on late medieval theories of animal cognition and has recently published on Albert the Greatâs use of medical doctrines (Quaestio, 2023).
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 A Matter of Principles: The Epistemic Status of Medicine in Albertâs Early Theology and Aristotelian Paraphrases
â1âWhat Is Health and What Is Healing? A Conundrum in Medieval Discussions
â2âHealing the Soul, Healing the Body: Medicine and Natural Philosophy in Albertâs Early Theology
â3âAvicenna: Between the First Teacher and the Physician
â4âThe De homine and the First Entry of Avicennaâs De animalibus
â5âMedicine in the Aristotelian Paraphrases: Theoretical Underpinnings and Historical Context
â6âMedicine in the Parva naturalia: An Open Question
â7âMedicine as a Part of Natural Philosophy (?) in Albertâs Zoology
âConclusions
2 Vita abstrahitur a vegetatione: Spirit and Albertâs Emanative Psychology of Life
â1âMedieval Conceptions of Spirit: between Language of Life and Doctrine of Intermediaries
â2âKeeping It Cool: Aristotle on Soul, pneuma and Life
â3âVital Spirits, Vital Faculty and Life: Costa Ben Luca, Nemesius and the Galenic Medical Tradition
â4âNeoplatonic Psychology Meets Galenic Medicine: Avicenna on Spirit, Soul and Life
â5âActus animae secundum se: Soul, Spirit, and Life in Albert the Great
âConclusions
3 Spirit, Generation and Natural TeleologyâPart1: Human Generation
â1ââThe pneuma and the Nature within Itâ: Aristotle on Generation
â2âFirst Teaching vs. Anatomical Practice: Avicenna on Generation
â3âAverroes on Heart, Spirit and Generation: an Undervalued Albertinian Source
â4âAlbert on Generation between Theology, Zoology and Botany
âConclusions
4 Spirit, Generation and Natural TeleologyâPart2: Animal, Plant, and Spontaneous Generation
â1âPneuma, Animal Generation, and Spontaneous Generation in Aristotle
â2âAvicenna on Spirit, Animal Generation, and (Human?) Spontaneous Generation
â3âAverroes on Spirit and Spontaneous Generation
â4âAnimal, Plant, and Spontaneous Generation in Albert the Great
âConclusions
5 Spirit, Radical Moisture, and Longevity in Living Beings
â1âVital Heat, Moisture, and Longevity in Aristotle
â2âThe Lamp Metaphor, Spirit, and Radical Moisture in Avicenna
â3âSpirit, Radical Moisture, and Longevity in Albert the Great
âConclusions
6 Spirit and potentiae apprehensivae deforis: The Psychophysiology of Sense Perception and Common Sense
â1âHeat, pneuma and Sensation in Aristotle
â2âAnimal Spirits and Sense Perception in Costa Ben Luca and Other Medico-philosophical Sources
â3âAnimal Spirits in Avicennaâs Theory of Sense Perception and Common Sense
â4âSpiritus animalis and potentiae apprehensivae deforis in Albertâs Psychology
âConclusions
7 Animal Spirits and Internally Apprehensive Powers (potentiae apprehensivae deintus)âPart1: Estimation and Memory
â1âAristotle on Human and Animal Cognition: Imagination, Memory, and Recollection
â2âBrain Ventricles and Cognitive Faculties in Costa Ben Luca, Nemesius and Other Sources
â3âAvicennaâs Psychophysiology of Inner Senses: Estimation, Memory, and Recollection
â4âAverroesâ Critique of Avicennian Estimation: A Turning Point in Medieval Psychology
â5âAnimal Spirits and potentiae apprehensivae deintus in Albert the Great: Estimation and Memory
âConclusions
8 Animal Spirits and Internally Apprehensive Powers (potentiae apprehensivae deintus)âPart2: Sleep, Dreams and Prophecy
â1âAristotleâs Psychophysiology of Dreaming and Sleeping
â2âThe Psychophysiology of Sleep, Dreaming and Prophecy in Avicenna and the Arabic Philosophical Tradition
â3âGod-Given Dreams, Dreaming and Sleep in Albert the Great
âConclusions
Final Remarks
â1âMethodology: Albert the Great and the Role of Medicine
â2âThe Role of Spirits
Bibliography
Index
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 A Matter of Principles: The Epistemic Status of Medicine in Albertâs Early Theology and Aristotelian Paraphrases
â1âWhat Is Health and What Is Healing? A Conundrum in Medieval Discussions
â2âHealing the Soul, Healing the Body: Medicine and Natural Philosophy in Albertâs Early Theology
â3âAvicenna: Between the First Teacher and the Physician
â4âThe De homine and the First Entry of Avicennaâs De animalibus
â5âMedicine in the Aristotelian Paraphrases: Theoretical Underpinnings and Historical Context
â6âMedicine in the Parva naturalia: An Open Question
â7âMedicine as a Part of Natural Philosophy (?) in Albertâs Zoology
âConclusions
Part 1 Spirits of Life
2 Vita abstrahitur a vegetatione: Spirit and Albertâs Emanative Psychology of Life
â1âMedieval Conceptions of Spirit: between Language of Life and Doctrine of Intermediaries
â2âKeeping It Cool: Aristotle on Soul, pneuma and Life
â3âVital Spirits, Vital Faculty and Life: Costa Ben Luca, Nemesius and the Galenic Medical Tradition
â4âNeoplatonic Psychology Meets Galenic Medicine: Avicenna on Spirit, Soul and Life
â5âActus animae secundum se: Soul, Spirit, and Life in Albert the Great
âConclusions
3 Spirit, Generation and Natural TeleologyâPart1: Human Generation
â1ââThe pneuma and the Nature within Itâ: Aristotle on Generation
â2âFirst Teaching vs. Anatomical Practice: Avicenna on Generation
â3âAverroes on Heart, Spirit and Generation: an Undervalued Albertinian Source
â4âAlbert on Generation between Theology, Zoology and Botany
âConclusions
4 Spirit, Generation and Natural TeleologyâPart2: Animal, Plant, and Spontaneous Generation
â1âPneuma, Animal Generation, and Spontaneous Generation in Aristotle
â2âAvicenna on Spirit, Animal Generation, and (Human?) Spontaneous Generation
â3âAverroes on Spirit and Spontaneous Generation
â4âAnimal, Plant, and Spontaneous Generation in Albert the Great
âConclusions
5 Spirit, Radical Moisture, and Longevity in Living Beings
â1âVital Heat, Moisture, and Longevity in Aristotle
â2âThe Lamp Metaphor, Spirit, and Radical Moisture in Avicenna
â3âSpirit, Radical Moisture, and Longevity in Albert the Great
âConclusions
Part 2 Spirits of Perception
6 Spirit and potentiae apprehensivae deforis: The Psychophysiology of Sense Perception and Common Sense
â1âHeat, pneuma and Sensation in Aristotle
â2âAnimal Spirits and Sense Perception in Costa Ben Luca and Other Medico-philosophical Sources
â3âAnimal Spirits in Avicennaâs Theory of Sense Perception and Common Sense
â4âSpiritus animalis and potentiae apprehensivae deforis in Albertâs Psychology
âConclusions
7 Animal Spirits and Internally Apprehensive Powers (potentiae apprehensivae deintus)âPart1: Estimation and Memory
â1âAristotle on Human and Animal Cognition: Imagination, Memory, and Recollection
â2âBrain Ventricles and Cognitive Faculties in Costa Ben Luca, Nemesius and Other Sources
â3âAvicennaâs Psychophysiology of Inner Senses: Estimation, Memory, and Recollection
â4âAverroesâ Critique of Avicennian Estimation: A Turning Point in Medieval Psychology
â5âAnimal Spirits and potentiae apprehensivae deintus in Albert the Great: Estimation and Memory
âConclusions
8 Animal Spirits and Internally Apprehensive Powers (potentiae apprehensivae deintus)âPart2: Sleep, Dreams and Prophecy
â1âAristotleâs Psychophysiology of Dreaming and Sleeping
â2âThe Psychophysiology of Sleep, Dreaming and Prophecy in Avicenna and the Arabic Philosophical Tradition
â3âGod-Given Dreams, Dreaming and Sleep in Albert the Great
âConclusions
Final Remarks
â1âMethodology: Albert the Great and the Role of Medicine
â2âThe Role of Spirits
Bibliography
Index
The book appeals to historians of philosophy and medicine in the Latin Middle Ages and to those interested in the reception of Arabic sciences and philosophy in the Latin West.