The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism, and Anthropology in France

by Jennifer Michael Hecht

On October 19, 1876 a group of leading French citizens, both men and women included, joined together to form an unusual group, The Society of Mutual Autopsy, with the aim of proving that souls do not exist. The idea was that, after death, they would dissect one another and (hopefully) show a direct relationship between brain shapes and sizes and the character, abilities and intelligence of individuals. This strange scientific pact, and indeed what we have come to think of as anthropology, which the group's members helped to develop, had its genesis in aggressive, evangelical atheism.

With this group as its focus, The End of the Soul is a study of science and atheism in France in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It shows that anthropology grew in the context of an impassioned struggle between the forces of tradition, especially the Catholic faith, and those of a more freethinking modernism, and moreover that it became for many a secular religion. Among the adherents of this new faith discussed here are the novelist Emile Zola, the great statesman Leon Gambetta, the American birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, and Arthur Conan Doyle, whose Sherlock Holmes embodied the triumph of ratiocination over credulity.

Boldly argued, full of colorful characters and often bizarre battles over science and faith, this book represents a major contribution to the history of science and European intellectual history.

Genres: History, Anthropology, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Atheism, Nonfiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jennifer Michael Hecht is a poet, historian, philosopher, and author.

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a dense scholarly work. I really admire its breadth and style over all. However, I do cringe from time to time because I am allergic to phrases masquerading as full sentences. Hecht does an amazing job of bringing this crazy crew of science dudes and dudettes to life. I enjoy her rich narrative of their lives and work.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title badly oversells this book. I came to it with the expectation that it would be about the end of an idea in science's effort to undertand the origins of human thought and personality. The soul as a rational theory did indeed get preempted by the sciences of anthroplogy, psychology and sociology at the end of the 19th Century, the time period of this book. However, this book is not about that.

Instead the book is about a supposedly scientific anthropological society in 19th Century France with an agenda for raising science to the level of a rational, athiest religion. Their furvor was more religious than rational. Their science was dubious. Their connection to revolutionary social movements of the day extreme.

The only good thing I'll say about this book is that it is as thick with information as a doctoral thesis. However, the writing style is dry, even arid, making the information too much for my attention span. I took a month to finish it, and it's not that long. The detail may make this book valuable to a student already in possession of an abiding interest in the subject, but I would not recommend it to anyone else.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book but did not find it as easy to read as others by this author.

[Antonio Fanelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interessante.
Prolisso pesante involuto
Differente dagli altri saggi dell'autrice.

[George Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved most everything of Hecht I have read. This is one is not the best of the lot and drags a little but has something important to offer in terms of thinking about our own culture in relation to science and religion.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a part of history I was totally unaware of: The Society of Mutual Autopsy, a group of free-thinking atheist anthropologists in 19th century France who pledged to autopsy each others' corpses after their death. And they did, too! They also had a huge influence on noted French thinkers and politicians of the time. Hecht's history includes a healthy dose of insightful but readable analysis. Must read more of this author!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is obviously meant for an academic audience - heavy on the little details, lots of actors that are hard to keep straight, not really in chronological order. It was interesting for someone who had already read her Doubt book and is interested in neuroscience and evolution. But this book is probably better for those interested in French history.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A superstition replaces another superstition. Catholicism had many changes like that. This time the new gang was set not to conquer the Vatican, but built new set of parallel institutions. Nothing about soul, modernity or Atheism. Yet the same uninspired dry writing of an academic paper pusher.

[versarbre]

The book starts with the Society of Mutual Autopsy in 1876. Noteworthily, today the non-existence of souls seem to no longer bother the academics personally?

[Rita Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually began reading this book about Feb. 2, and thought it had been entered at that time, but it didn't show up that way. Regardless, it's a fine read for anyone interested in the subject, and who isn't looking for a fast read.

The End of the Soul: Scientific Modernity, Atheism, and Anthropology in France, by Jennifer Michael Hecht, is a study of science and atheism in 19th Century and early 20th Century France.

The book is an exhaustive study of intellectual, and noted colorful freethinkers embracing anthropology, and butting heads with a French culture dominated by monarchy, dogma, tradition, and the Catholic Church. The Society of Anthropology of Paris, and another offshoot, the Society of Mutual Autopsy, the latter bent on proving that souls did not exist, drew many adherents whose work and writings affected the future world. Some of those active participants, and those later affected by their writings and findings have included: author Bram Stoker, who defined his character, Dracula, from the findings of Italian physician Cesare Lombroso who believed criminals had certain facial characteristics that he defined;
and Leonce Manouvrier, noted anthropologist, considered by some to be the most brilliant of all, and who took a stand against sexism, and other biases of the day such as race, social class, and caste.

A few of the extensive list of others include Emile Zola (author); Leon Gambetta (noted statesman); Margaret Sanger (early feminist); Maria Montessori (education); Jean-Martin Charcot (hypnosis and shellshock); Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes); Sigmund Freud (psychiatry); Emile Durkheim (suicide studies) and Alphonse Bertillon (founder modern detective work).

On the dark side, Georges Lapogue’s work, although discredited by most of the other anthropologists and freethinkers, later contributed to Germany’s race theories in the 1920s and 1930s.
The book is a slow read, but interesting enough to make it well worth the time.

[Tommy Carlson · Rating 2 out of 5]

After my delight at Doubt: A History, I has high hopes for The End of the Soul, another scholarly work by the same author. Frankly, I just couldn't get through it. Its thesis is to examine how intellectuals in France substituted their own secular beliefs and rituals for the religious ones they had left behind. Instead, the book seems more a showcase for all the research done, laden with gossip, with little regard for actually supporting the thesis. It just dragged on and on, about people I was never given much reason about which to care. While I only got about a third of the way through it, even then it just didn't seem to have enough on-topic points to justify the pages. I just couldn't face the rest of the book and abandoned it.

Maybe if I were already familiar with the time and place, this would have worked for me.