John H. Zammito - Médecin-philosoph: Persona for Radical Enlightenment

In 1772 Ernst Platner published Anthropologie für Ärzte und Weltweise. I want to consider how that combination of “physicians” and “philosophers” got into his title by recovering a peculiar mode of philosophical self-presentation that became crucial in Europe in the middle of the 18^th century, the médecin-philosoph. I will connect the idea with the “paradigm shift” to “vital materialism” in French life science around mid-century in the works of Buffon, Maupertuis, La Mettrie and Diderot, stressing how the last two figures, in particular, took up the stance of the médecin-philosoph. I will then show how a parallel tradition took shape in Germany, culminating in Platner’s book.

John H. Zammito (Rice University): Médecin-philosoph: Persona for Radical Enlightenment