As I wrote in my last post, Hippocrates was the first physician to recognize the brain as the center of conscience and intelligence. Until then, it was widely believed that the heart controlled all emotions and intellect. This theory came from the ancient Egyptians who maintained that the heart was the seat of thought and soul, and the brain was nothing more than an accessory. They believed that good deeds lightened the heart, so when one died, the God Ammut would weigh the heart and decide your fate depending on the weight. A heart that was as light as a feather was returned to life, but a heavy heart was gobbled up. It seems that this is the reason we correlate happiness and kindness with a light heart and grief with a heavy heart!
The ancient Greeks had opposing views on the center of thought and emotions. Aristotle was one of the most famous proponents of the Egyptian theory that the heart controlled thought and intelligence. However, his own mentor, Plato, believed otherwise. In the discussion of a human soul. he claimed the soul, which was immortal, had three separate parts. The part responsible for rational thought, logos, was located in the brain; therefore, the brain was the true location of the divine and immortal soul.
Aristotle argued that the soul was not immortal and resided in the heart, which was directly responsible for respiration and the sustenance of life. He argued that the heart is the first organ to develop in an embryo, and turns cold upon death, hence it was the soul of the human being. It was the organ of feelings, perception, and thinking. Therefore, it was the most important organ governing human life, and the brain was simply a cooling agent to keep the heart from overheating.
Hippocrates contradicted this theory and argued that the brain was the center of thought, reason, and emotions. Later the Roman physician Galen, who was Hippocrates' follower, proved this theory by studying the effects of brain injuries on mental activity and firmly established that the brain controlled motor and sensory functions by demonstrations of nerve cutting of animals. He argued that the heart and brain were separate entities-- both equally important in life-- with the brain representing the logical soul and the heart driving the impulsive and emotional soul.
Although we now know that Hippocrates and Galen were closer to the truth about the brain, the old theory about the heart controlling emotions and thought continues to persist, at least non-scientifically. That is why we still "learn by heart" and "put our heart into something we love" and of course, when we are really sad, we have a 💔
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| God Ammut weighing a dead man's heart in the afterlife. Image: National Geographic |
The ancient Greeks had opposing views on the center of thought and emotions. Aristotle was one of the most famous proponents of the Egyptian theory that the heart controlled thought and intelligence. However, his own mentor, Plato, believed otherwise. In the discussion of a human soul. he claimed the soul, which was immortal, had three separate parts. The part responsible for rational thought, logos, was located in the brain; therefore, the brain was the true location of the divine and immortal soul.
Aristotle argued that the soul was not immortal and resided in the heart, which was directly responsible for respiration and the sustenance of life. He argued that the heart is the first organ to develop in an embryo, and turns cold upon death, hence it was the soul of the human being. It was the organ of feelings, perception, and thinking. Therefore, it was the most important organ governing human life, and the brain was simply a cooling agent to keep the heart from overheating.
Hippocrates contradicted this theory and argued that the brain was the center of thought, reason, and emotions. Later the Roman physician Galen, who was Hippocrates' follower, proved this theory by studying the effects of brain injuries on mental activity and firmly established that the brain controlled motor and sensory functions by demonstrations of nerve cutting of animals. He argued that the heart and brain were separate entities-- both equally important in life-- with the brain representing the logical soul and the heart driving the impulsive and emotional soul.
Although we now know that Hippocrates and Galen were closer to the truth about the brain, the old theory about the heart controlling emotions and thought continues to persist, at least non-scientifically. That is why we still "learn by heart" and "put our heart into something we love" and of course, when we are really sad, we have a 💔
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