A Philosophical Approach to the View of Humanity in Classical Antiquity through an Analysis of the Debate about the Central Organ of the Human Body in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370003
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Philosophy/Ethics
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: IMAI MASAHIRO 弘前大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (80281913)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 人体の中枢器官 / 脳中心主義 / 心臓中心主義 / ヒッポクラテス医学派 / アリストテレスの生物学 / プラクサゴラスの生理学 / 初期アレクサンドリア医学 / ストア派の魂論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The main purpose of this research project lies in a philosophical approach to the view of Humanity in Classical Antiquity through an analysis of the debate about the central organ of the human body in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. In my research project, I tried to answer the crucial question about the roles played by early Alexandrian physicians (Herophilus and Erasistratus), and also by their contemporary philosophers, especially the Stoics (Zeno and his successor Chrysippus) in the debate about the location of the central organ in the human body, its structure and its function.

Free Research Field

西洋古典学・西洋古代思想文化史