A Figura of the Soul: Visualizing the Three Faculties of the Soul in a Hebrew Manuscript
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The headline “This figure is drawn to show all the faculties of the soul” introduces a diagram in a fifteenth-century Hebrew manuscript from Italy (Cambridge MS Dd.10.68). This distinctive composition, echoed in only one similar example, synthesizes textual and visual sources about the soul and the brain. Diverging from conventional medieval diagrams, this form highlights the innovative spirit of its creator. This article analyzes the integrated text, its sources, and the form of the diagram, shedding light on the practice of transforming a written text into an elegant visual representation, seamlessly merging the fields of medicine and philosophy.
Author: Sivan Gottlieb
Institutions: Universidad de Granada, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Language: English
Topic: History of Medicine Studies
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4410144854