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The Soul in the Stomach (2021)
A 17th-century physician’s controversial theory about the link between the emotions and the stomach reminds us that we shouldn’t ignore our ‘gut feelings’.
In contrast to the leading medical thinkers of his time, many of whom were turning toward detailed anatomical studies and mathematical concepts to seek explanations for physical phenomena, Van Helmont’s theory depended upon appeals to human experiences that could be difficult or even impossible to articulate: “If a gun sends forth a noise unexpectedly,” he observed, “a timorous person, in a sudden terror, feels the token of fear in the mouth of his stomach.” Torre-Ubieta, Luis de la CC BY-NC'“Over the past decade, research into the gut microbiome and enteric nervous system points to a dynamic and multidirectional relationship between belly and brain.” Van Helmont’s unusual writing style, with his emphasis on religious themes and attentiveness to subjective experience, was out of step with the current thinking of his day, and it seems clear that his “mad or foolish idea” was always doomed to failure.
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