Galen

1) His Biography and Main Works:

Galen (130–200), a Greek physician, anatomist, physiologist, philosopher, and lexicographer, is regarded as one of the greatest medical thinkers of all time. Galen published numerous publications throughout his lifetime, starting with Three Commentaries on the Syllogistic Works of Chrysippus at the age of 13 and finishing with Introduction to Dialectics the year before he passed away. Over 2.5 million words have been attributed to his entire body of work. Over half of the ancient medicine texts that have survived are his compositions.

Although a range of birth dates between 127 and 132 have been proposed, 130 is the most popular choice. Galen was born in Pergamon, Asia Minor, to a wealthy family with a strong heritage of academia and was affected by the Greek cultural renaissance that had begun at the end of the first century A.D. The Roman world had become increasingly more Hellenized as a result of this renaissance, which also saw Greek educational methods adopted and Greek as the language of culture.

Galen learned exclusively from his father, Nicon, a mathematician, architect, astronomer, philosopher, and admirer of Greek literature, until he was 14 years old. Galen also consciously based his own life on Nicon’s example of the Stoic virtues. According to the author of On the Passions and Errors of the Soul, his mother was “so very much prone to anger that sometimes she bit her handmaids; she constantly shrieked at my father and fought with him,” but he was “fortunate in having the least irascible, the most just, the most devoted of fathers.” Galen defines passion as “that unbridled energy rebellious to reason” and has its management as one of his life’s goals. He says, “When I compared my father’s noble deeds with the disgraceful passions of my mother I decided to embrace and love his deeds and flee and hate her passions.” Perhaps not surprisingly, he chose to remain single.

Galen attended lectures given by Stoic, Platonic, Peripatetic, and Epicurean thinkers from Pergamon in his fourteenth year. As a result of Nicon’s encouragement, he refused to “proclaim [himself] a member of any of these sects,” claiming that “there was no need for [the philosophy] teachers to disagree with one another, just as there was no disagreement among the teachers of geometry and arithmetic.” In later life, he adopted the same attitude toward the medical sects, urging doctors to take whatever is useful from wherever they find it and not to follow one sect or one man because that makes a person an “intellectual slave”.

According to Galen, Nicon was “advised by a dream to take up medicine together with philosophy… if I had not devoted the whole of my life to the practice of medical and philosophical precepts, I would have learned nothing of importance… the great majority of men practicing medicine and philosophy are proficient in neither, for they were not well born or not properly instructed or did not persevere in their studies but instead turned to politics.”

His first anatomy teacher was Satyrus, a student of Quintus, who through his students played a significant role in the resurgence of anatomical activity that culminated in Galen’s work. Galen, being well born, aptly advised, and casting aside politics, persevered with his studies at Pergamon for the following four years, as he puts it, “urging [myself] above [my] companions to such a degree that I was studying both day and night.”

Galen made his way back to Pergamon in 157, where he “had the good fortune to think out and publicly show a remedy for damaged tendons,” earning him the job of gladiator’s physician in 158. He received annual reappointments up until the start of the Parthian War in 161.

Galen used the traumatic wounds he encountered in the arena as good chances to deepen his understanding of anatomy, surgery, and medicines. He would use this reservoir of information throughout the rest of his life to support his arguments. Galen produced some of his most innovative work while serving as a physician to the gladiators, whose daily lives can be pieced together from his writings. This work included his explanation of the role the recurrent laryngeal nerve plays in regulating voice production. This had broad ramifications for him and his contemporaries since it affected their conceptions of the soul.

Galen traveled to Rome in 163, when he made friends with the consul Flavius Boethius and philosopher Eudemus. Galen, who adopted the Stoic teachings “to scorn honors and worldly goods and to hold only truth in esteem,” opposed the self-seeking of his opponents and lamented their inability to comprehend honesty of motive and intellect when they encountered it. Galen’s public anatomical demonstrations and his achievements as a physician made Roman physicians so jealous of him that Eudemus “warned him he was putting himself in danger of assassination.”

In 166, Galen visited Pergamon once more. However, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus sent for him and appointed him physician-in-ordinary in 168 after a serious plague outbreak among the Roman troops in Aquileia. Galen lived at one of the imperial rural estates until 175, when Commodus joined Marcus on his military expeditions. Galen was appointed physician to Commodus (emperor 180–192) by Marcus in 169.

He published On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body, a 17-book important physiological work, as well as On the Natural Faculties, another major physiological work, as well as numerous other treatises during this time. As Marcus’ doctor, Galen made a permanent return to Rome in 176. He continued to write, lecture, and hold public protests while now under imperial protection.

The majority of Galen’s library was lost by fire in the winter of 191/192. Nevertheless, despite this setback, which he handled with stoic composure, declaring that “no loss was enough to bring me anguish”, we are incredibly well-informed about his writings due to the two treatises he authored on his own books and their chronological order of publication. The second was put together in 198. He wrote the first while he was a young man after “a certain book… plainly inscribed ‘Galenus Medicus’ proved on inspection… to be a forgery.” Both books serve as important sources of biographical information and provide authoritative information on the veracity of his writings.

Galen maintained his medical studies and writing from 179 until his death in 200, creating important works including The Method of Cure. The treatises On the Equality of Sin and Punishment, The Slight Significance of Popular Honour and Glory, and The Refusal to Divulge Knowledge are examples of his more intellectual writings from his final ten years. Introduction to Dialectics was the title of his most recent book.

2) Main Themes:

Anatomy:

Galen’s research on the circulatory system was one of his most significant contributions to medicine. Prior to Galen’s discovery, it was thought that oxygen rather than blood was carried via the arteries. He was the first to realize that venous blood (black) and arterial blood (bright) have unique variances from one another. Galen hypothesized much more about the nature of the circulatory system in addition to these observations. In accordance with Hippocrates’ theories, he thought that the liver was the site of blood’s creation. For the circulatory system to use the nutrients taken in from the food we eat, the liver transformed them into blood. The great vein would eventually allow the blood produced in the liver to flow unidirectionally into the right ventricle of the heart.

A notion regarding how blood absorbs oxygen from the lungs and distributes it throughout the body was also put forth by Galen. The air from the lungs entered the left ventricle of the heart by the venous artery, according to him, where it mixed with blood produced by the liver. The exchange of waste materials from the blood back into the lungs for exhalation was made possible via the same vein.

The new blood from the right ventricle had to travel to the left ventricle to receive air from the lungs. Therefore, Galen claimed that the septum, which separates the left and right sides of the heart, has tiny holes. These holes allowed the blood to pass through readily in order to exchange the waste products and receive air.

His work had scientific inaccuracies, even though his anatomical research on animal models helped him get a deeper grasp of the circulatory system, neurological system, respiratory system, and other components. Galen thought that the circulatory system was not one unified system of circulation, but rather two distinct one-way networks of distribution. He thought that the liver produced venous blood, which was then distributed to and used by all the body’s organs. He proposed that all the body’s organs ingested and disseminated arterial blood, the source of which was the heart.

The cycle was then finished by the blood being produced again, either in the heart or the liver. Galen also held the idea that the carotid sinus contains a network of blood veins he named the rete mirabile. Both hypotheses about blood circulation were later proven to be false, starting with writings by Ibn al-Nafis published around 1242.

Galen was a forerunner in the study of the human spine. He made important discoveries during the dissection and vivisection of animals that allowed him to precisely characterize the human spine, spinal cord, and vertebral column. Galen made significant contributions to the understanding of the Central Nervous System. In addition, he was able to characterize the spinal nerves, which is crucial to his study of the neurological system.

Galen later became the first doctor to investigate the effects of many spinal cord levels being cut. He used pigs to study their neuroanatomy by completely or partially severing certain nerves to see the effects on the body. He even dealt with conditions that affected the nerves and spinal cord. Galen examined the idea of muscle tone, clarified the distinction between agonists and antagonists, and described the distinction between motor and sensory neurons in his work De motu musculorum.

Galen also demonstrated that the voice was regulated by the brain through his vivisection techniques. One of the most well-known experiments he performed in front of an audience was the squealing pig: Galen would cut open a pig and while it was squealing, tie off the recurrent laryngeal nerve, or vocal cords, to demonstrate how they were in charge of sound production. He demonstrated the function of the kidneys and bladder using the same technique to tie up the ureters.

Galen thought that the human body’s ability to function was due to three interdependent systems. He postulated that the brain and nerves, which control cognition and feeling, made up the first system. The second proposed system was the heart and arteries, which Galen thought were in charge of supplying the vital energy. The liver and veins, which Galen believed were in charge of feeding and growth, were the final system to be postulated. Galen also proposed that the liver produced blood, which was then distributed throughout the body.

Localization of Function:

“On the Doctrines of Hippocrates and Plato”, one of Galen’s most important works, tried to show the compatibility of the two topics and their viewpoints. Galen created a tripartite soul with a similar structure based on their views and those of Aristotle. He referred to the three elements as logical, spiritual, and appetitive, using the same terminology as Plato. Each matched a certain region of the body.

The brain housed the intellectual soul, the heart housed the spiritual soul, and the liver housed the appetitive soul. Galen, who had a strong foundation in medicine, was the first scientist and philosopher to link portions of the soul to specific regions of the body. Nowadays, this concept is known as “localization of function.” Galen’s assignments were ground-breaking at the time and served as a model for later theories of localisation.

The rational soul was thought to control higher level cognitive functioning in an organism, such as making decisions or perceiving the world and sending those signals to the brain. He also listed “imagination, memory, recollection, knowledge,” suggesting that each of these are found within the rational soul.

The spirited soul was where the “developing or being alive” functions were located. Our impulses, like rage, were likewise stored in the spirited soul. These passions were thought to be more dangerous than ordinary emotions since they were thought to be considerably stronger. The third half of the soul, known as the appetitive spirit, was responsible for regulating the body’s living energies, most notably the blood. The appetitive spirit also controlled bodily pleasures and was influenced by positive emotions. The animalistic, or more natural, half of the soul, which makes up the third part of the soul, is concerned with the body’s biological drives and survival instincts. Galen suggested that excessive pleasure has a harmful effect on the soul, causing it to reach states of “incontinence” and “licentiousness,” where it is unable to willfully stop enjoying itself.

He modified the pneuma hypothesis, which he used to describe how the soul operated within its assigned organs and how those organs, in turn, interacted with one another, in order to unite his views about the soul and how it operated within the body. Galen then made a distinction between the mental pneuma, located in the brain and nerve system, and the vital pneuma, located in the artery system. Galen positioned the psychic pneuma inside the brain and the vital pneuma inside the heart.

Opposition to the Stoics:

Galen’s contributions to medicine and the circulatory system are widely known, but he was also interested in philosophy. Following Plato’s teachings, he created his own three-part soul model; some academics refer to him as a Platonist. Galen felt that there was a physiological basis for mental diseases and established a theory of personality based on his knowledge of human fluid circulation. Galen disagreed with the Stoics’ understanding and application of the pneuma and tied it to many of his views.

Galen claimed that the Stoics were unable to provide a convincing justification for the localisation of mental functions. He was certain that he had a superior solution—the brain—using medicine. The rational soul, which the Stoics believed to be present in the heart, was the only aspect of the soul they recognized. Following Plato, Galen added two further components to the soul. Galen rejected Aristotelian logic as well as Stoic propositional logic, and he adopted a fictitious syllogistic that was heavily influenced by the Peripatetics.

Mind–Body Problem:

Galen agreed with some Greek philosophical schools in his belief that the mind and body were not separate faculties. This was where his opposition to the Stoics became most pronounced. Galen proposed that organs within the body be responsible for specific functions. This was a controversial idea at the time. Galen believed there is no sharp distinction between the mental and the physical. Galen claimed that the Stoics’ assertions regarding the separability of the mind and body were invalidated by the lack of empirical support, which is why he was so vocal in his criticism of them.

The relationship between the spirit and the body is a topic of serious academic dispute. Galen claims both that the soul “follows” and that the soul is a corporeal combination in his small book Quod animi mores. These statements have been reconciled by academics, who support a materialist interpretation of Galen’s philosophy of mind. This materialist interpretation holds that Galen equates the mixtures of the body with the soul.

Psychotherapy:

“On the Diagnosis and Cure of the Soul’s Passion”, another significant work by Galen, detailed how to approach and cure psychological issues. Galen made an early attempt at what is now known as psychotherapy. In his book, he gave advice on how to talk to people who are struggling psychologically in order to get them to open up and share their darkest secrets and passions, which will help to cure them of their mental deficiencies. The leading person, or therapist, had to be a man, preferably older and wiser in age, and unconstrained by passions. Galen argued that these passions were to blame for people’s psychological issues.

3) His influence on Muslim Philosophers:

The Islamic world has benefited from and continues to use Galen’s medical philosophy. The Arab Christian Hunayn ibn Ishaq was the first significant Galen translator into Arabic. He translated 129 “Jalinos” works into Arabic between the years 830 and 870. The discovery of new or somewhat difficult-to-access Galenic works continues to come through Arabic sources like Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (AD 865-925). The Kitab ila Aglooqan fi Shifa al Amrad translation by Hunayn, which is preserved in the library of the Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine & Sciences, is recognized as one of Galen’s literary masterpieces.

This 10th-century manuscript, which is a part of the Alexandrian compilation of Galen’s writings, is divided into two parts and contains information on numerous fevers (Humyat) and inflammatory disorders of the body. The fact that it contains information on over 150 single and compound formulations with both animal and botanical origins is more significant. The book offers information into the customs and medical practices of the Greek and Roman civilizations. Furthermore, this book offers a primary resource for the investigation of more than 150 single and compound medications utilized in Greco-Roman times.

As implied by the title of al-Razi’s “Doubts on Galen” and the writings of other physicians like Ibn Zuhr and Ibn al-Nafis, the works of Galen were not taken at face value but rather as a foundation for additional investigation that may be contested. With a strong emphasis on testing and empiricism, writers like al-Razi, Ali ibn Abbas al-Majusi, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Zuhr, and Ibn al-Nafis produced fresh findings and observations that were contrasted with those of Galen and merged with them. For instance, the Galenic theory on the heart conflicted with Ibn al-Nafis’ discovery of the pulmonary circulation.

Galen’s writings, including his humourism, continue to have a significant influence on contemporary unani medicine, which is extensively used from Morocco to India and is now closely associated with Islamic culture. Galen, who Maimonides regarded as the best physician ever, and whom he frequently mentioned in his medical writings, had an influence on him.