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Narrating resuscitation: theory, knowledge, and the cultural life of eighteenth-century vitalism
This paper considers the relationship between the practice of resuscitation in mid- to late eighteenth-century Britain, and vitalist physiology and medicine. It explores how the mix of mystery and fact presented in the scene of reanimation, and manifested in the resuscitated body as the site of such a compelling conjunction, is negotiated in contemporary vitalist theories of life and theoretical reflections on natural philosophical method. In this, it gives a particular prominence to the Scottish vitalists, especially William Cullen. It considers the attractions of resuscitation for addressing the particular epistemological predicament faced by vitalism: its combination of post-Newtonian empiricism and the inevitable conjecture—or "provisionally inexplicable explicative device"—necessary when faced with the mysteries of life. Finally, the cultural life of vitalism is considered in the work of William Hawes, Humane Society founder, and John Thelwall, radical journalist.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Literature and MedicineISSN
1080-6571Publisher
Johns Hopkins University PressExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
37Page range
346-367Department affiliated with
- English Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-11-07First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-11-23First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-11-13Usage metrics
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