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Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain—and How it Changed the World
In this unprecedented history of a scientific revolution, award-winning author and journalist Carl Zimmer tells the definitive story of the dawn of the age of the brain and modern consciousness. Told here for the first time, the dramatic tale of how the secrets of the brain were discovered in seventeenth-century England unfolds against a turbulent backdrop of civil war, the Great Fire of London, and plague. At the beginning of that chaotic century, no one knew how the brain worked or even what it looked like intact. But by the century's close, even the most common conceptions and dominant philosophies had been completely overturned, supplanted by a radical new vision of man, God, and the universe.
Presiding over the rise of this new scientific paradigm was the founder of modern neurology, Thomas Willis, a fascinating, sympathetic, even heroic figure at the center of an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers known as the Oxford circle. Chronicled here in vivid detail are their groundbreaking revelations and the often gory experiments that first enshrined the brain as the physical seat of intelligence -- and the seat of the human soul. Soul Made Flesh conveys a contagious appreciation for the brain, its structure, and its many marvelous functions, and the implications for human identity, mind, and morality.
Presiding over the rise of this new scientific paradigm was the founder of modern neurology, Thomas Willis, a fascinating, sympathetic, even heroic figure at the center of an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers known as the Oxford circle. Chronicled here in vivid detail are their groundbreaking revelations and the often gory experiments that first enshrined the brain as the physical seat of intelligence -- and the seat of the human soul. Soul Made Flesh conveys a contagious appreciation for the brain, its structure, and its many marvelous functions, and the implications for human identity, mind, and morality.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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2098 people want to read
About the author
Carl Zimmer
52 books1,700 followersCarl Zimmer is a columnist for the New York Times and the author of 15 books about science. His latest book is Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe. Visit him at carlzimmer.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
December 28, 2008
It’s impossible to talk about the history of the brain – about the history of medicine at large, actually – without also talking about religion and politics and philosophy. Mostly religion, as you might expect. This book tackles all of the above with admirable aplomb, starting off with one of my favorite childhood anecdotes about the ancient Egyptian burial custom of removing the brain through the nostrils because it was clearly a useless organ (how can you not love that; it’s totally disgusting!). We hop on through the first anatomists, sojourn a bit with alchemy, pause for natural philosophy, and then settle down in fifteenth-century England for the majority of the book. This is a bit too broad to be classified as a biography of Thomas Willis (the father of neuroscience), but it’s a close thing. It’s a thorough, ranging but focused account of the history of the brain and how we conceive of our conscious minds, our souls, ourselves as animals. And a whole lot of familiar names keep popping up, like Hobbes and Locke (a doctor, which I had forgotten) and the two Roberts (Boyle and Hooke) who are better known for their work in physics and chemistry, but who actually made enormous contributions to the understanding of human respiration and blood oxygenation.
Well-researched, entirely lucid, a bit rambling but in the good way. There’s a whole hell of a lot of ground to cover when you start out before we even realized the brain was the seat of consciousness, not to mention the many theologians and anatomists alike who maintained the soul by its nature could not be physical. This book covers most of that very well, particularly in detailing the ebb and flow of experimentation through England’s revolution and restoration. I was unsatisfied by the sudden 350 year leap made in the last chapter, and the rushed treatment of modern nuropharmacology and the potential of MRI studies (what is the brain doing when confronted with some of those awful moral philosophy questions – in situation x you can save five people by killing one, what do you do?). I honestly would have been happier had the book simply maintained its historical focus and stopped in the fifteenth century. Which would have left the “and how it changed the world” part mostly to inference, but I almost would have preferred inference to the rushed and vague cap on an otherwise nuanced account. The writing here is also rather dry. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination – it’s more invisible than anything – and I’m spoiled by the last nonfiction I read. Still, it’s a consideration.
On balance, this is definitely a book you will like if you like that sort of thing. Otherwise it will be deeply dull. Luckily, I like that sort of thing.
Well-researched, entirely lucid, a bit rambling but in the good way. There’s a whole hell of a lot of ground to cover when you start out before we even realized the brain was the seat of consciousness, not to mention the many theologians and anatomists alike who maintained the soul by its nature could not be physical. This book covers most of that very well, particularly in detailing the ebb and flow of experimentation through England’s revolution and restoration. I was unsatisfied by the sudden 350 year leap made in the last chapter, and the rushed treatment of modern nuropharmacology and the potential of MRI studies (what is the brain doing when confronted with some of those awful moral philosophy questions – in situation x you can save five people by killing one, what do you do?). I honestly would have been happier had the book simply maintained its historical focus and stopped in the fifteenth century. Which would have left the “and how it changed the world” part mostly to inference, but I almost would have preferred inference to the rushed and vague cap on an otherwise nuanced account. The writing here is also rather dry. It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination – it’s more invisible than anything – and I’m spoiled by the last nonfiction I read. Still, it’s a consideration.
On balance, this is definitely a book you will like if you like that sort of thing. Otherwise it will be deeply dull. Luckily, I like that sort of thing.
July 29, 2017
Very interesting look into the scientific period where people switched from thinking that the heart was the source of the mind to the brain being the source. Also some good writing on the changes in the scientific method during that time. My only complaint is that there was a little too much biography of historical figures for my taste.
April 12, 2020
It's difficult to think, but for centuries the heart was considered as the ruler of the body - not the brain. When medicine was based all around a set of four humours those unbalance were supposedly the source of all diseases, the brain was seen as just a nest for 'pumps', various ventricules just there to distribute 'vital fluids'. Thomas Willis, a 17th century English doctor and scientist, will radically change all that.
Willis was the first to describe some sort of 'animal spirit' travelling through the brain and being responsible for our emotions and various skills (eg. perception...), what we would describe now as the electrical signals travelling through neurons to neurons. Willis was the first to understand that different parts of the brain had different functions. Willis was the first to note that the human brain bears striking similarities with the brains of other animals - which will later make sense in the light of evolutionary biology. Willis had dissected the human body with such careful precision that, his anatomy of the brain and nerves not only led him to coin the word 'neurology' (a new whole science) but, also, discover a crucial set of arteries supplying the brain with blood (a set of arteries named after him -'the circle of Willis'). Willis completely blew away the previous paradigm whereas the heart was the ruler of the body (illnesses the product of an unbalance in four humours) to demonstrate instead that most diseases could be linked to abnormalities in the brain. The shift was massive. As Carl Zimmer asserts:
'Thomas Willis ushered in the Neurocentric Age... His mixture of anatomy, experiment, and medical observation has set the agenda of neuroscience into the twenty-first century.'
Delving into the life of such a bold and curious scientist, whose insights would be radical for our understanding of ourselves, is fascinating enough. Carl Zimmer, on that score, does an amazing job in retracing the biography of this original doctor. Even more remarkable, though, is the context into which Thomas Willis worked and evolved.
England, back then, was indeed at the throat of a Civil War that saw Royalists fighting Parliamentarians, and Christians battling each other (the Church of England against the Puritans against the Quakers). Willis' time was the time of a king being put to death, the two Cromwell, and of the Restoration. Chaotic? Surely. And for a Royalist like him, well, not that great! And yet... Willis was working in Oxford, the University from where he had graduated, and Oxford was then a strange peaceful haven in the surrounding chaos:
'A poor, orphan soldier on the losing side of a civil war, he [Thomas Willis] would struggle for a decade to survive in the turmoil between Puritans and conspiring royalists, in a country still facing years of war and the execution of a king. For Willis and many like him these years would feel like a national insanity.
Yet the political chaos also turned Oxford intellectually into a fizzing vial of spirits, a place where alchemists jostled with Aristotelians, where telescopes were trained at the sky and microscopes at the legs of fleas.'
And Carl Zimmer describes the place superbly: John Wilkins was there, Robert Boyle was there, William Petty was there, Christopher Wren was there, Robert Hooke was there... You get it! That bizarre melting-pot to such brilliant minds of all sorts would be the ferment of the Royal Society, created in 1662 and of which Willis was a founding member.
No matter how radical their ideas, though, these brilliant minds were still pretty much clinging to ancient beliefs and paradigms, Willis included. This is where the author manages to show us a man in all its contradictions: a scientist firmly grounded in experiments, who, yet, also dabbled into mysticism, alchemy, and, as a doctor, used to prescribe weird remedies reminiscent of snake oils! The 17th century might have been exciting and ground-breaking time for science (eg. besides his work on the brain, Willis will also pick up on William Harvey's discovery to experiment with blood transfusion...). It was also the age of Alchemy and superstitions, and, the mix of both makes for a bizarre era to plunge into.
A deep and engaging book, 'Soul Made Flesh' goes way beyond Willis, the Civil War and its impact, and, the burgeoning Royal Society. It depicts how a fascinating bunch of intellectuals of all sort, gathered in Oxford, would radically change the face of science besides greatly impact on modern medicine. Willis was more than a virtuosi, he was the first neuroscientist. Carl Zimmer, surely, does a great job in retelling it all; but be warned: it's so wide-encompassing and detailed, it's at times quite difficult to follow! So many names, so many intricacies, so many bubbling and contradictory ideas! Nevertheless, here's a biography to discover.
Willis was the first to describe some sort of 'animal spirit' travelling through the brain and being responsible for our emotions and various skills (eg. perception...), what we would describe now as the electrical signals travelling through neurons to neurons. Willis was the first to understand that different parts of the brain had different functions. Willis was the first to note that the human brain bears striking similarities with the brains of other animals - which will later make sense in the light of evolutionary biology. Willis had dissected the human body with such careful precision that, his anatomy of the brain and nerves not only led him to coin the word 'neurology' (a new whole science) but, also, discover a crucial set of arteries supplying the brain with blood (a set of arteries named after him -'the circle of Willis'). Willis completely blew away the previous paradigm whereas the heart was the ruler of the body (illnesses the product of an unbalance in four humours) to demonstrate instead that most diseases could be linked to abnormalities in the brain. The shift was massive. As Carl Zimmer asserts:
'Thomas Willis ushered in the Neurocentric Age... His mixture of anatomy, experiment, and medical observation has set the agenda of neuroscience into the twenty-first century.'
Delving into the life of such a bold and curious scientist, whose insights would be radical for our understanding of ourselves, is fascinating enough. Carl Zimmer, on that score, does an amazing job in retracing the biography of this original doctor. Even more remarkable, though, is the context into which Thomas Willis worked and evolved.
England, back then, was indeed at the throat of a Civil War that saw Royalists fighting Parliamentarians, and Christians battling each other (the Church of England against the Puritans against the Quakers). Willis' time was the time of a king being put to death, the two Cromwell, and of the Restoration. Chaotic? Surely. And for a Royalist like him, well, not that great! And yet... Willis was working in Oxford, the University from where he had graduated, and Oxford was then a strange peaceful haven in the surrounding chaos:
'A poor, orphan soldier on the losing side of a civil war, he [Thomas Willis] would struggle for a decade to survive in the turmoil between Puritans and conspiring royalists, in a country still facing years of war and the execution of a king. For Willis and many like him these years would feel like a national insanity.
Yet the political chaos also turned Oxford intellectually into a fizzing vial of spirits, a place where alchemists jostled with Aristotelians, where telescopes were trained at the sky and microscopes at the legs of fleas.'
And Carl Zimmer describes the place superbly: John Wilkins was there, Robert Boyle was there, William Petty was there, Christopher Wren was there, Robert Hooke was there... You get it! That bizarre melting-pot to such brilliant minds of all sorts would be the ferment of the Royal Society, created in 1662 and of which Willis was a founding member.
No matter how radical their ideas, though, these brilliant minds were still pretty much clinging to ancient beliefs and paradigms, Willis included. This is where the author manages to show us a man in all its contradictions: a scientist firmly grounded in experiments, who, yet, also dabbled into mysticism, alchemy, and, as a doctor, used to prescribe weird remedies reminiscent of snake oils! The 17th century might have been exciting and ground-breaking time for science (eg. besides his work on the brain, Willis will also pick up on William Harvey's discovery to experiment with blood transfusion...). It was also the age of Alchemy and superstitions, and, the mix of both makes for a bizarre era to plunge into.
A deep and engaging book, 'Soul Made Flesh' goes way beyond Willis, the Civil War and its impact, and, the burgeoning Royal Society. It depicts how a fascinating bunch of intellectuals of all sort, gathered in Oxford, would radically change the face of science besides greatly impact on modern medicine. Willis was more than a virtuosi, he was the first neuroscientist. Carl Zimmer, surely, does a great job in retelling it all; but be warned: it's so wide-encompassing and detailed, it's at times quite difficult to follow! So many names, so many intricacies, so many bubbling and contradictory ideas! Nevertheless, here's a biography to discover.
March 22, 2021
mais uma indicação maravilhosa da disciplina de neurociência que eu tô pagando esse semestre. é uma não-ficção científica, mas que explora bem poeticamente a história de "descoberta" do cérebro, passando pelos filósofos como Hipócrates (e a teoria dos tipos sanguíneos, que por algum motivo tosco ressurgiu nas comunidades religiosas hoje) até os dias atuais. spoiler, sabemos um pouco mais do que Thomas Willis quando ele formulou o termo "neurologia", mas ainda não sabemos quase nada sobre essa massa cinzenta. o cérebro permanece sendo um mistério. muito bom mesmo.
April 25, 2024
Very heavy on the religious and philosophical origins of neuroscience. This in itself isn’t an issue, but it then only dedicates about 30 pages at the end to modern psychology and science. It skips from the 1600s to present day at the start of the last chapter. To me it felt like there were pieces missing.
October 28, 2024
Incredibly beautiful in its span of history and incredibly absorbing in its subject matter. This was a true delight. Highly recommended to those interested in medical as well as spiritual history. 10/10
November 9, 2017
In Soul Made Flesh (2003), Zimmer describes the scientific revolution of the 17th century in terms of medicine and psychology. Before the 17th century most of medicine was based on Hippocrates and Galen, which in essence was an explanation for the workings of our bodies and diseases in terms of the relative abundance of four bodily fluids. This was not science as we know it, this was all based on deductive logical systems à la Aristotle, mixed with a unhealthy dose of mysticism.
René Descartes was the first natural philosopher to erect a materialistic scientific model of the world: everything is based on the motions and collisions of particles (atoms). Humans differ from the rest of the immaterial matter and animals because humans have an immaterial soul. Later thinkers like Hobbes would take this scientific outlook even further and tried to build politics and ethics on the workings of material particles (i.e. humans).
On the other side were empiricists like William Harvey - the discoverer of the function of the heart in terms of blood circulation - who worked in the tradition that Francis Bacon founded (i.e. using experiments to search for truth).
A relatively obscure Englishman called Thomas Willis tried to manoeuvre between both camps. On one hand Willis discovered the anatomy and the workings of brains and nervous systems - and thereby explaining our bodily and mental illnesses in neurological and physical terms. On the other hand, Willis held fast to a Rational Soul that delegates the sensual tasks (receiving and processing information) to lower systems (i.e. Sensitive Souls). This Rational Soul was supposed to be immaterial and immortal and was the place where 'the will', ethics,
In broad outlines, this is the major transition in medicine and psychology that happened in the 17th century. In the 21st century, we know that our functioning (as well as the functioning of any other organism) depends on some sort of information processing and that illnesses - physical as well as mental (not that this distinction makes much sense anymore) have nothing to do with spirits, souls or bodily fluids, but have physical causes.
That this view of medicine and psychology took until deep into the 20th century to be recognized as the truth, was due to John Locke, who with his Essay Concerning Human Understanding shifted the attention in medicine and psychology to 'ideas' instead of 'anatomy'. One of the offshoots of this Englightenment-mistake is the idea of moral realism. It's only in recent decades that we have shifted towards moral intuitionism: ethics is nothing more (or less!) than our intuitions of what's good or bad. It seems that most of our personal decisions are guided by emotions; only the more distant decisions are guided by logic/rational thought. As Zimmer states: "Sometimes we act like Mill (emotion), sometimes we act like Kant (rational)" (p.294). It just depends on the subject; and neuroscience can inform us when it's important not to give (too much) in to emotion.
Zimmer does a good job in explaining all the important steps in this major transition. The revolution in medicine/psychology is one that easily gets overlooked in treatments of the scientific revolution. There are a lot important insights in this book: the influence of alchemy on the discovery of drugs and on the drive to search for physical explanations of the workings of our bodies; the intricate interplay between the political turbulence (Civil War, religious outbursts, the various political factions), the role of Oxford and religious convictions about (the existence of) the immortal soul; the importance of empirical evidence to support scientific theories; the origin of the Royal Society.
The most interesting part of the book was (for me) by far the background information on the various actors; it is really refreshing to read something about giants like John Locke, René Descartes, William Harvey, Robbert Boyle, etc. that has nothing to do with their philosophies or scientific discoveries. It makes them more human than in most other treatments of these subjects.
René Descartes was the first natural philosopher to erect a materialistic scientific model of the world: everything is based on the motions and collisions of particles (atoms). Humans differ from the rest of the immaterial matter and animals because humans have an immaterial soul. Later thinkers like Hobbes would take this scientific outlook even further and tried to build politics and ethics on the workings of material particles (i.e. humans).
On the other side were empiricists like William Harvey - the discoverer of the function of the heart in terms of blood circulation - who worked in the tradition that Francis Bacon founded (i.e. using experiments to search for truth).
A relatively obscure Englishman called Thomas Willis tried to manoeuvre between both camps. On one hand Willis discovered the anatomy and the workings of brains and nervous systems - and thereby explaining our bodily and mental illnesses in neurological and physical terms. On the other hand, Willis held fast to a Rational Soul that delegates the sensual tasks (receiving and processing information) to lower systems (i.e. Sensitive Souls). This Rational Soul was supposed to be immaterial and immortal and was the place where 'the will', ethics,
In broad outlines, this is the major transition in medicine and psychology that happened in the 17th century. In the 21st century, we know that our functioning (as well as the functioning of any other organism) depends on some sort of information processing and that illnesses - physical as well as mental (not that this distinction makes much sense anymore) have nothing to do with spirits, souls or bodily fluids, but have physical causes.
That this view of medicine and psychology took until deep into the 20th century to be recognized as the truth, was due to John Locke, who with his Essay Concerning Human Understanding shifted the attention in medicine and psychology to 'ideas' instead of 'anatomy'. One of the offshoots of this Englightenment-mistake is the idea of moral realism. It's only in recent decades that we have shifted towards moral intuitionism: ethics is nothing more (or less!) than our intuitions of what's good or bad. It seems that most of our personal decisions are guided by emotions; only the more distant decisions are guided by logic/rational thought. As Zimmer states: "Sometimes we act like Mill (emotion), sometimes we act like Kant (rational)" (p.294). It just depends on the subject; and neuroscience can inform us when it's important not to give (too much) in to emotion.
Zimmer does a good job in explaining all the important steps in this major transition. The revolution in medicine/psychology is one that easily gets overlooked in treatments of the scientific revolution. There are a lot important insights in this book: the influence of alchemy on the discovery of drugs and on the drive to search for physical explanations of the workings of our bodies; the intricate interplay between the political turbulence (Civil War, religious outbursts, the various political factions), the role of Oxford and religious convictions about (the existence of) the immortal soul; the importance of empirical evidence to support scientific theories; the origin of the Royal Society.
The most interesting part of the book was (for me) by far the background information on the various actors; it is really refreshing to read something about giants like John Locke, René Descartes, William Harvey, Robbert Boyle, etc. that has nothing to do with their philosophies or scientific discoveries. It makes them more human than in most other treatments of these subjects.
October 12, 2025
This is actually a 3.5 that I'm rounding up to a 4.
It was captivating to read about the history of the brain. I had no idea that the scientific discoveries pertaining to our bodies and more specifically our consciousness were so intricate with philosophical and religious questioning. I found it fascinating that, with each new discovery, each new challenge to their faith by the finding of a fact, these scientists tried to find a way to accomodate their beliefs to the new reality before them. Of course, religious institutions weren't (still aren't) as flexible and accomodating as them but it gave me a new outlook on how science and faith don't necessarely have to be antithetical for individuals. I am still not convinced that institutional religion could ever be compatible with scientific progress though as, paradoxally, the Catholic church was right : by asking so many questions, these scientists did pave the way to modern day atheism.
Strangely the book made me hopeful. If people as deeply religious as Boyle, Harvey, Willis, Sydenham and Locke could accept facts and design scientific protocols in spite of their deeply-rooted beliefs, surely there is hope for the modern-day obscurantist nutcases who want to inject bleach to Covid patients.
I really loved that the book challenged my vision of science, faith and gave me a new outlook on how our consciousness of our own self and bodies shapes our minds.
Now I loved the soul part, I loved the brain part, but I have to admit I never wanted to know so much about the political turmoils of 17th-century-England. I understand context is important, I just wished Carl Zimmer had found a way to make it easier to digest. The introduction of the different scientists was also a bit clumsy and I kept having a hard time keeping track of them and differentiating them. The author also managed to ramble a lot while not taking enough time to explain some new concepts.
One thing that is not his fault but was very uncomfortable for me to read was all the animal torture. I know these experiments on animals ultimately helped saving millions of people, very far down the road but it was just hard to read, especially because it needed to be described in a lot of details sometimes. So if you are very sensitive to that, maybe give it a pass. Or don't read it with your doggo on your lap.
Finally, don't expect to read about anything else than Jolly Old (Western) Europe. I hope the subject-matter was so broad that the author decided to focus on one part of the world (the easiest part for him) only. I still wish I could have had a peek at concepts of the soul and brain discoveries in other cultures as well.
It was captivating to read about the history of the brain. I had no idea that the scientific discoveries pertaining to our bodies and more specifically our consciousness were so intricate with philosophical and religious questioning. I found it fascinating that, with each new discovery, each new challenge to their faith by the finding of a fact, these scientists tried to find a way to accomodate their beliefs to the new reality before them. Of course, religious institutions weren't (still aren't) as flexible and accomodating as them but it gave me a new outlook on how science and faith don't necessarely have to be antithetical for individuals. I am still not convinced that institutional religion could ever be compatible with scientific progress though as, paradoxally, the Catholic church was right : by asking so many questions, these scientists did pave the way to modern day atheism.
Strangely the book made me hopeful. If people as deeply religious as Boyle, Harvey, Willis, Sydenham and Locke could accept facts and design scientific protocols in spite of their deeply-rooted beliefs, surely there is hope for the modern-day obscurantist nutcases who want to inject bleach to Covid patients.
I really loved that the book challenged my vision of science, faith and gave me a new outlook on how our consciousness of our own self and bodies shapes our minds.
Now I loved the soul part, I loved the brain part, but I have to admit I never wanted to know so much about the political turmoils of 17th-century-England. I understand context is important, I just wished Carl Zimmer had found a way to make it easier to digest. The introduction of the different scientists was also a bit clumsy and I kept having a hard time keeping track of them and differentiating them. The author also managed to ramble a lot while not taking enough time to explain some new concepts.
One thing that is not his fault but was very uncomfortable for me to read was all the animal torture. I know these experiments on animals ultimately helped saving millions of people, very far down the road but it was just hard to read, especially because it needed to be described in a lot of details sometimes. So if you are very sensitive to that, maybe give it a pass. Or don't read it with your doggo on your lap.
Finally, don't expect to read about anything else than Jolly Old (Western) Europe. I hope the subject-matter was so broad that the author decided to focus on one part of the world (the easiest part for him) only. I still wish I could have had a peek at concepts of the soul and brain discoveries in other cultures as well.
September 6, 2024
In his work,” Soul Made Flesh”, Carl Zimmer gives a good job in providing the thinking regarding the heart, and its importance, and the brain, and its perceived unimportance, as related to the times, that being the mid 1600s. Said thinking started with Aristotle, and subsequently, hundreds of years later, continued on with Galen; thinking that was implacably held, and only through considerable efforts via the anatomical dissections of so many cadavers did Thomas Willis, neuroanatomist of that time , move the needle of discovery. There were others ,at this time,of course, moving the needle, namely, William Harvey, the father of medicine , studying circulation of the blood, Williams, Christopher Wren , Boyle, these “ virtuosi” coming together to form what they called the Oxford Experimental Philosophy Club. Richard Lower , a sensational member of the Oxford Circle, doing experiments on blood transfusions, initially with dogs, and later soliciting for human experimentation from Bedlam, London’s lunatic asylum, unsuccessfully. Ultimately, Lower did find a man, who “ was the subject of a harmless form of insanity”, Lower being convinced that transfusions could” improve his mental condition”.
All of this was occurring concurrently with England’ s political and religious battles, the Royalists, Protestants, the Levellers, Shakers, Puritans, in ceaseless conflict. Charles I, monarch , beheaded. The English Civil War, lasting almost 10 years. In the interim, England had Cromwell. When Cromwell dies in 1659, Charles II, enters London.
Mr. Zimmer does an excellent job in providing this story, consistent with the knowledge and thinking held at that time. The presentation regarding the soul, ( the rational soul and the sensitive soul, then) and the perceived subtleties discussed wonderfully.
Although this a book with excellent insight into the historical and political scene at that time, it iwas a little surprising that Mr Zimmer did not give a little more detail of the anatomic vascularity of the brain, particularly because the moniker,the Circle of Willis is known anatomical nomenclature.
All of this was occurring concurrently with England’ s political and religious battles, the Royalists, Protestants, the Levellers, Shakers, Puritans, in ceaseless conflict. Charles I, monarch , beheaded. The English Civil War, lasting almost 10 years. In the interim, England had Cromwell. When Cromwell dies in 1659, Charles II, enters London.
Mr. Zimmer does an excellent job in providing this story, consistent with the knowledge and thinking held at that time. The presentation regarding the soul, ( the rational soul and the sensitive soul, then) and the perceived subtleties discussed wonderfully.
Although this a book with excellent insight into the historical and political scene at that time, it iwas a little surprising that Mr Zimmer did not give a little more detail of the anatomic vascularity of the brain, particularly because the moniker,the Circle of Willis is known anatomical nomenclature.
April 16, 2018
A solid introduction to the history of the realization of the role of the brain. The book centers on Thomas Willis, the alchemist, physician, and anatomist. His studies, conducted among the early fellows of the Royal Society in seventeenth-century England, cast off a great deal of ancient and Medieval teaching about the body in general and the brain in particular. The book is strongest at the somewhat grisly work of describing the experiments and dissections conducted by Willis and others who founded the Society, and at placing their education and research in context with their predecessors and peers. (This is at times a difficult book to read over a meal.) I would have liked to read more about research beyond Willis’ immediate circle, in both geographic and temporal proximity; in particular, Willis and his cohort walked us to the edge of further revelatory discoveries, and the book would have been more complete if it had followed along. Likewise, the connections to modern understanding were a bit thin, contained in a single, final chapter. (The 2003 publication date probably doesn’t help, as there’s been much brain and AI research in the last 15 years.) I think too that there are still fundamental philosophical issues that remain relevant that would have been interesting to discuss. Ultimately, it’s a good read, and while a bit slight, is a good overview of the start of a revolution in how medicine and science are conducted.
January 16, 2021
Carl Zimmer has fashioned a gripping history of what he considers to be the birth of the ‘age of the brain’. While focused on Zimmer’s candidate for the father of neurology – Thomas Willis – the biographical story is a thread that weaves through a wider landscape of 17th century England, a place suffering through the political turmoil of civil war, secular disasters like the fire of London, religious machinations and the sectoral scrabble for power, and the challenging of received wisdom by a colourful cast of literal Renaissance men. In the upheaval of this century, with what was ‘known’ about the brain dominated by Aristotle and Galen, both of whom lived more than a millennium previously, Willis came to establish the fundamentals of neurology that – despite being wrong in detail – are directly related to the discipline today.
Zimmer vividly paints a picture of these chaotic times, and his enthusiasm for the intellectual adventure at the core of the book seeps through. It’s an entertaining text, one that should be accessible and engaging to a general non-expert audience provided the central subject and/or the period are of interest. If that’s you, then this is definitely deserves a space on your shelf.
For a wider discussion see my blog, NeurOnToSomething at https://neurontosomething.wordpress.c...
Zimmer vividly paints a picture of these chaotic times, and his enthusiasm for the intellectual adventure at the core of the book seeps through. It’s an entertaining text, one that should be accessible and engaging to a general non-expert audience provided the central subject and/or the period are of interest. If that’s you, then this is definitely deserves a space on your shelf.
For a wider discussion see my blog, NeurOnToSomething at https://neurontosomething.wordpress.c...
September 3, 2018
I’ve enjoyed Zimmer’s books before, and he remains the best science writer I know of who isn’t actually a scientist himself.
In this book, he attempts to describe the transition in thinking that happened in the mid to late 1600s, during which alchemy became chemistry and a mystical view of life gave way to scientific thinking about biology and anatomy. As a broad history, it often reads like a summary of notes abridged from a longer textbook. It succeeds in clearly conveying the material, but for me, the author’s usually engaging style fails to shine through as much as it should. While much of the historical information was new to me, including the significant contributions of Harvey, Willis and others, the content was a bit dry and occasionally tedious.
I found that I enjoyed the final section the most, where Zimmer brings us up to the present and comments on the work being done more recently in the area of neuroscience, while referring back to the ideas and discoveries that laid the groundwork for our modern understanding.
In this book, he attempts to describe the transition in thinking that happened in the mid to late 1600s, during which alchemy became chemistry and a mystical view of life gave way to scientific thinking about biology and anatomy. As a broad history, it often reads like a summary of notes abridged from a longer textbook. It succeeds in clearly conveying the material, but for me, the author’s usually engaging style fails to shine through as much as it should. While much of the historical information was new to me, including the significant contributions of Harvey, Willis and others, the content was a bit dry and occasionally tedious.
I found that I enjoyed the final section the most, where Zimmer brings us up to the present and comments on the work being done more recently in the area of neuroscience, while referring back to the ideas and discoveries that laid the groundwork for our modern understanding.
April 23, 2019
Zaujímavo napísaná kniha - beletristicko-dejepiseckým štýlom rozpráva príbehy významných lekárov a ďalších, ktorí ovplyvnili naše súčasné chápanie mozgu.
Kniha mapuje najmä 17. storočie a Anglicko, kde sa pochopenie ľudskej duše zásadne menilo. Kniha ukazuje ako sa pochopenie bohom vdýchnutej duše, cez duchov putujúcich po celom tele a roznášajúcich živiny, menilo na mechanistický a neskôr na viac chemicko-organický stroj.
Mozog nebol až do 17. storočia ani vnímaný ako dôležitý orgán - rýchlo sa po pitve rozkladal a tak naozaj nevyzeral ako centrum duše. Dlho ho pokladali iba za huspeninu na chladenie tela. Zato srdce vyzeralo ako centrum človeka - videli ho v činnosti aj pri živom človeku a iných zvieratách. A keď srdce prestalo biť, tak človek a zviera umrelo.
Kým vedeli mozog trochu dlhšie zachovať, aby ho pitvali, kým začali chápať, že to prekrvenie asi má nejaký dôležitý význam, že poškodenia mozgu viedli k zmene prejavov myslenia... kým prekonali všetky náboženské, politické a iné predsudky, tak to trvalo...
A aj o tom je táto zaujímavá kniha o začiatkoch neurológie.
Kniha mapuje najmä 17. storočie a Anglicko, kde sa pochopenie ľudskej duše zásadne menilo. Kniha ukazuje ako sa pochopenie bohom vdýchnutej duše, cez duchov putujúcich po celom tele a roznášajúcich živiny, menilo na mechanistický a neskôr na viac chemicko-organický stroj.
Mozog nebol až do 17. storočia ani vnímaný ako dôležitý orgán - rýchlo sa po pitve rozkladal a tak naozaj nevyzeral ako centrum duše. Dlho ho pokladali iba za huspeninu na chladenie tela. Zato srdce vyzeralo ako centrum človeka - videli ho v činnosti aj pri živom človeku a iných zvieratách. A keď srdce prestalo biť, tak človek a zviera umrelo.
Kým vedeli mozog trochu dlhšie zachovať, aby ho pitvali, kým začali chápať, že to prekrvenie asi má nejaký dôležitý význam, že poškodenia mozgu viedli k zmene prejavov myslenia... kým prekonali všetky náboženské, politické a iné predsudky, tak to trvalo...
A aj o tom je táto zaujímavá kniha o začiatkoch neurológie.
June 2, 2017
This book presents a broad brush picture of seventeenth century developments in exploration of the relationship of mind and brain. From my research on the main character in Zimmer's book--Thomas Willis--I can say that Zimmer has got most of the facts of the story right. While many will find his chapters on the political history of this tumultuous era in British history engaging, I found it somewhat distracting. That is merely a matter of taste. Zimmer is a fine story teller. What one gets from this book will depend on what one wants from it. For me it was somewhat superficial.
December 3, 2025
The material is very comprehensive, clearly building upon Thomas Willis's work while incorporating philosophy and intellectual history. It covers prominent scientists such as William Harvey, Robert Boyle, and Robert Hooke, and also adds substantial background on 17th-century British religious and political history. However, it feels slightly detached now. A more holistic perspective, focusing on the evolution of concepts rather than being suddenly drawn to the personal histories of a particular figure, might make it a better read.
February 24, 2024
You actually get a two for one with this book as it details not only the revolution of anatomical science but also the religious revolutions in 1600s England. People were stumbling in the dark about how the body worked, not knowing about the importance of oxygen even. Everything was essentially God or some form of the divinity to them. And for this group of doctors to not only challenge and advance the science but tightrope walk the political feelings of the time is really interesting.
July 31, 2017
I learned as much about Restoration England as I did about Thomas Willis and the pre-Enlightenment discoveries that led to the science of neurology and the idea of psychology.
Interesting read and well-written, though I felt some of the editorial decisions concerning the structure of the book were a bit inconsistent. Interesting perspectives on John Locke and Thomas Hobbes and Christopher Wren.
Interesting read and well-written, though I felt some of the editorial decisions concerning the structure of the book were a bit inconsistent. Interesting perspectives on John Locke and Thomas Hobbes and Christopher Wren.
March 30, 2018
Interesting if a bit slow at times. The biographical information on various scientists, alchemists, and philosophers was really interesting, as was seeing human understanding make small leaps slowly adding up to more knowledge.
May 19, 2023
This provides a good history, but I would have preferred it be a little more focused. While other historical issues were important to go into for the story, I felt they were explored too deeply in ways that have certainly been done already in books on those specific topics.
January 13, 2025
a nice deep dive into the religious, philosophical, and political context of major medical advances of the 1600s. i'm into history so i enjoyed it, but the last chapter was practically the only one that actually talked about mapping out the brain and its impact.
November 7, 2025
Fascinating topic and packed with excellent research. I enjoy learning about how science, philosophy and religion grappled with the question of anatomy and the soul. It was tedious reading, at times, due to the amount of information.
May 11, 2018
The well-told story of the beginnings of what would become modern neurology and the paradigm shift that came with it.
June 14, 2018
I was expecting more balanced chronology, instead of the strong focus on the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Well written with lots of interesting anecdotes, though.
November 5, 2018
A wonderful read about the history and discovery of the brain.
April 23, 2019
Brillant résumé !
April 14, 2021
I have very much enjoyed all of Zimmer's other work, but this was a slog to get through. This book reads much more like a dense biography with some neuroscience thrown in than a science book.
December 6, 2021
Will read again. I learned so much from this book. Accidental find and it was so good
March 31, 2024
Well-written and informative. Excellent book!
April 22, 2014
This book is about Thomas Willis and his compatriots, who in the seventeenth century led the way for a new medical science based in careful observation and experimentation. It's also a book which looks at history, politics and religion, and how these shape the possibility of, and reception to, new ideas. Finally, it is a book which introduces neurology as a science and discusses the spiritual and religious implications of discovering the brain in its neuro-anatomical reality.
I found this book a little difficult to read, because it is dense with rich historical, political and religious detail. So it took longer than I would expect a 300-page text written in an accessible style to take. But it is accessibly written, and well worth the effort. Carl Zimmer has a clear and imaginative way of connecting ideas, thoughts and concepts to historical and political situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology and neurology, but also to anyone interested in how ideas emerge and are shaped by their historical settings. One of the most fascinating parts of this narrative were the details situating Thomas Willis and his work in the backdrop of civil war and restoration, with the way that his social situation - and the kinds of ideas allowed - changed with these bigger, political shifts. The stories of William Harvey (with his revolutionary ideas about blood circulation) and Thomas Hobbes (with his book on government, the Leviathan) provide illustrative and useful contrasts to the reception of Thomas Willis's work, and perhaps some of the hesitancy of Willis to move too far from Galenistic ideas of how to treat disease. Thomas Willis's work in a sense is a brilliant example of the old and the new co-existing in one theoretical framework - he cannot take the steps further into the new, because his beliefs and his circumstances make this dangerous and near impossible. It's also a brilliant example of the mix of scientific method (as it starts to be established) and old philosophical argument (as it starts to be challenged by new ways of thinking) that makes the early natural philosophers such a curious mix of modern and ancient.
I really enjoyed the richness of the stories and the scientific detail of the book. The last chapter, which offers a whistlestop tour of modern neurology and highlights ways in which we can see Willis's influence, is perhaps a little too kind to his legacy, and mixes in lots of ideas and directions in neuroscience in perhaps not the most clear way. As someone versed in MRI and modern neuroscience, I wondered how sensible it would seem to a more lay reader. But, as a whole, I really enjoyed the challenge the book presented, in its rich historical and scientific detail and in its introduction to different ways of thinking and understanding the world.
I found this book a little difficult to read, because it is dense with rich historical, political and religious detail. So it took longer than I would expect a 300-page text written in an accessible style to take. But it is accessibly written, and well worth the effort. Carl Zimmer has a clear and imaginative way of connecting ideas, thoughts and concepts to historical and political situation.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in psychology and neurology, but also to anyone interested in how ideas emerge and are shaped by their historical settings. One of the most fascinating parts of this narrative were the details situating Thomas Willis and his work in the backdrop of civil war and restoration, with the way that his social situation - and the kinds of ideas allowed - changed with these bigger, political shifts. The stories of William Harvey (with his revolutionary ideas about blood circulation) and Thomas Hobbes (with his book on government, the Leviathan) provide illustrative and useful contrasts to the reception of Thomas Willis's work, and perhaps some of the hesitancy of Willis to move too far from Galenistic ideas of how to treat disease. Thomas Willis's work in a sense is a brilliant example of the old and the new co-existing in one theoretical framework - he cannot take the steps further into the new, because his beliefs and his circumstances make this dangerous and near impossible. It's also a brilliant example of the mix of scientific method (as it starts to be established) and old philosophical argument (as it starts to be challenged by new ways of thinking) that makes the early natural philosophers such a curious mix of modern and ancient.
I really enjoyed the richness of the stories and the scientific detail of the book. The last chapter, which offers a whistlestop tour of modern neurology and highlights ways in which we can see Willis's influence, is perhaps a little too kind to his legacy, and mixes in lots of ideas and directions in neuroscience in perhaps not the most clear way. As someone versed in MRI and modern neuroscience, I wondered how sensible it would seem to a more lay reader. But, as a whole, I really enjoyed the challenge the book presented, in its rich historical and scientific detail and in its introduction to different ways of thinking and understanding the world.
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