The Idea of Epilepsy

Résumé du livre

"Epilepsy occupies a unique position in the pantheon of human ailments. It is now, as it has always been, the unparalleled hierophant of neurological disease, but it is much more than this. A multifaceted phenomenon, it has in the swirling waters of human experience, complex scientific, societal and personal significations and meanings, and has attained a symbolism (an 'idea') which has become deeply embedded in the culture of mankind. In consequence, although primarily a medical history, the topic of this book - the story of Epilepsy's voyage in the long twentieth century (1860-2020) - has been shaped by other strong currents in addition to that of medicine, and to ignore these currents would be to isolate epilepsy and deprive it of any meaning. Although similar considerations apply in many diseases this is probably truer of epilepsy than of most others. To Oswei Temkin, epilepsy was a 'paradigm of the suffering of both body and soul in disease', and with its broad and deep connections, who can disagree?"--