Here, we heard from Antonio Clericuzio of Roma Tre University on Willis’s chemical corpuscularianism ( presentation 5), and then Oxford University’s Zoltán Molnár on the anatomy of the brain and nerves, complete with the story of Willis’s early life and a view of his birthplace in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, as shown below ( presentation 6). The chair and two participants then took part in a lively Q&A session, responding to requests submitted by the audience on Zoom ( presentation 4) Louis Caron was excused as it was 3:00am California time…Ĭatherine Dromelet of the University of Antwerp chaired the second session, which looked at cultural and scientific influences on the ideas emerging in Willis’s time relating to the vitality of ‘humane bodies’. In a pre-recorded video, California-based scholar Louis Caron then spoke on ‘Religious and political contingency in advancing knowledge’ ( presentation 2), and Alexander Wragge-Morley of the University of Lancaster followed up with a talk on Willis’s imaginative empiricism ( presentation 3). We heard from Michael Hunter on the origins of the Royal Society and other ‘clubs for improving knowledge’, including the Oxford Philosophical Club of the 1650s ( presentation 1). The opening session of the conference, chaired by Anna Marie Roos, set the scene by examining the status of natural philosophy in early modern England. I’ve provided direct links in brackets to each of the 12 presentations (which generally last between 20 and 30 minutes each), plus the panel discussions at the end of each session.Įngraving of Thomas Willis FRS by George Vertue, 1742, after David Loggan ( RS.19507) In this article, I’ll guide you through the contents of each of the four themed sessions, so you can pick out the areas which interest you. I’m very pleased to announce that the edited conference videos are now available for you to view on our Royal Society YouTube channel. The event was organised by Alastair Compston and Anna Marie Roos, editor of our Notes and Records journal. He can be considered the first ‘neurologist’ of the early modern period in British medicine.Īn image of the base of the brain, showing the arterial structure known as the ‘circle of Willis’, from Willis’s Cerebri anatome, 1664 His special interest was the brain and nervous system. Willis was part of a community that reshaped ideas on the structure and function of the human body in health and disease. It took place on 18 November, the date in 1663 on which he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. To celebrate the quatercentenary of his birth, we held an online conference on Willis’s life, work and legacy late last year. The celebrated physician Thomas Willis was born in Wiltshire in 1621. Rupert studied physics at the University of Exeter, and then went on to complete an MA in Information Services Management. His responsibilities include the development of the printed book collections, reader services and enquiry work, and tours of the Society’s home in Carlton House Terrace. Rupert joined the Royal Society in 1997, and is the Library Manager.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |