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Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy pp 1–2Cite as

Spirit in Renaissance Medicine

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Abstract

The “spirit” (pneuma in Greek and spiritus in Latin) was often defined as the corporeal instrument of the “soul” (psychê in Greek and anima in Latin) for physiological functions in living beings. Since the soul was difficult to grasp in a material dimension, the role of the spirit as a key to understanding the secret of life gradually increased in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. A long quest for a material spirit of life was launched.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the History of Philosophy and Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Hiro Hirai

Authors
  1. Hiro Hirai
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Correspondence to Hiro Hirai .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Venezia, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Section Editor information

  1. University Ca' Foscari Venice, Venice, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

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Hirai, H. (2018). Spirit in Renaissance Medicine. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1107-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1107-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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