Galen: Psychological Writings
Avoiding Distress, Character Traits, The Diagnosis and Treatment of the Affections and Errors Peculiar to Each Person's Soul, The Capacities of the Soul Depend on the Mixtures of the Body

New English translations, with accessible commentary, of psychological and ethical writings by Galen, the foremost philosopher-doctor of the ancient world.

P. N. Singer (Edited by), Daniel Davies (Contributions by), Vivian Nutton (Contributions by)

9780521765176, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 February 2014

558 pages, 2 b/w illus.
23.1 x 15.5 x 4.1 cm, 0.93 kg

'Exemplary … The Cambridge Galen Translations will do much to restore him to his rightful place among the most multifaceted, talented and influential of all Greek authors.' The Times Literary Supplement

All Galen's surviving shorter works on psychology and ethics - including the recently discovered Avoiding Distress, and the neglected Character Traits, extant only in Arabic - are here presented in one volume in a new English translation, with substantial introductions and notes and extensive glossaries. Original and penetrating analyses are provided of the psychological and philosophical thought, both of the above and of two absolutely central works of Galenic philosophy, Affections and Errors and The Capacities of the Soul, by some of the foremost experts in the field. Each treatise has also been subjected to fresh textual study, taking account of the latest scholarly developments, and is presented with accompanying textual discussions, adding greatly to the value and accuracy of the work without detracting from its accessibility to a wider readership. The volume thus makes a major contribution to the understanding of the ancient world's most prominent doctor-philosopher in his intellectual context.

General introduction P. N. Singer
1. Avoiding Distress Vivian Nutton
2. Character Traits Daniel Davies and P. N. Singer
3. Affections and Errors of the Soul P. N. Singer
4. The Capacities of the Soul Depend on the Mixtures of the Body P. N. Singer
Greek-English and Arabic-English index
English-Greek and English-Arabic glossary
Bibliography
General index
Index of passages cited.

Subject Areas: History of medicine [MBX], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], History of Western philosophy [HPC], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]