By Robert L. Martensen. 247 pp., illustrated. New York, Oxford University Press, 2004. $49.95. ISBN 0-19-515172-0.
This is a well-researched book about an important topic thatis underrepresented in the history of science: the transformation,mainly during the 17th century, of the widespread belief thatthe heart is the primary locus of personhood to the belief that,in fact, the brain serves this function. The story Martensentells, however, is not just of anatomical discovery. The authorweaves a theme throughout the book about the declining importancein natural philosophy of "presence" — which he definesas the "tendency to imagine knowledge of the world and the worlditself as dependent on the spiritual capacity and . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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