A retrospective diagnosis of epilepsy in three historical figures: St Paul, Joan of Arc and Socrates
| Autor: | Louwai Muhammed |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Psychoanalysis Famous Persons Medicine (miscellaneous) Greek World Top 100 historical figures of Wikipedia Roman World Epilepsy Epilepsy Complex Partial History and Philosophy of Science Temporal lobe seizure Religious conversion Medicine Narrative Psychiatry History Ancient Retrospective Studies Vision business.industry medicine.disease History Medieval SOCRATES Epilepsy Temporal Lobe Religious ecstasy France business |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Medical Biography. 21:208-211 |
| ISSN: | 1758-1087 0967-7720 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0967772013479757 |
| Popis: | It has been suggested that undiagnosed epilepsy profoundly influenced the lives of several key figures in history. Historical sources recounting strange voices and visions may in fact have been describing manifestations of epileptic seizures rather than more supernatural phenomena. Well-documented accounts of such experiences exist for three individuals in particular: Socrates, St Paul and Joan of Arc. The great philosopher Socrates described a ‘daimonion’ that would visit him throughout his life. This daimonion may have represented recurrent simple partial seizures, while the peculiar periods of motionlessness for which Socrates was well known may have been the result of co-existing complex partial seizures. St Paul’s religious conversion on the Road to Damascus may have followed a temporal lobe seizure which would account for the lights, voices, blindness and even the religious ecstasy he described. Finally, Joan of Arc gave a detailed narrative on the voices she heard from childhood during her Trial of Condemnation. Her auditory hallucinations appear to follow sudden acoustic stimuli in a way reminiscent of idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features. By analysing passages from historical texts, it is possible to argue that Socrates, St Paul and Joan of Arc each had epilepsy. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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