Religio medici

The important developments in medical theory, practice and organization that took place in the seventeenth century were heavily influenced by the religious and politico-religious upheavals which destabilized English society throughout the entire period. Although experimental investigation, rationality and professional medical institutions rose and flourished, so too did astrology, mysticism and straightforward quackery. Further, all these contending approaches were competing and combining in a time of dynastic flux, civil war and Restoration, and, of course, plague. This book addresses all of these matters, from the enlightened reason of Thomas Browne's Religio Medici to the arcana of astrological medicine, from the research dilemmas of Robert Boyle to the guile and dishonesty of the quacks of plagued London. It presents a complex and difficult story with authority and clarity and will be invaluable reading for historians of medicine and science, and students of religion and society.