CHAMPIER, Symphorien

Categorie medicinales. In libros demonstrationum Galeni categorie medicinales. In quibus praeclarissima queq(ue): & digna lectu que Galenus in demonstrativis sermonibus

      J. Marion First and sole edition of this rare work on the logic of medical analysis and argumentation. The attempt to give a specialized presentation of formal analysis to physicians probably reflects the increase in the number of practitioners literate in Latin, but lacking the extensive experience in logic typical of graduates of "arts" faculties. Well before the era of forensic medicine, skill in argumentation was a comparatively important asset for Renaissance physicians, since disagreements among practitioners of rival medical philosophies were radical and frequent.The work gives a concise introduction to the Aristotelian doctrine of the categories (substance, predicate, etc.), treats the most basic techniques of disputation, and then shows how these techniques are specifically applied in the analysis of selected medical problems, largely passages from Galen. "Command of logic provided the would-be medical student with the major tool of... scientific inquiry. University trained medical authors... habitually used Aristotelian logic to isolate arguments in medical texts for analysis and criticism" (Nancy G. Siraisi, Medieval and Renaissance Medicine, p. 67). Champier (1472-c. 1535) studied medicine at Padua and was personal physician to two kings of France. He was the main force behind the foundation of the school of Medicine in Lyons and a vigorous opponent of occultism in medicine. His many works include "the earliest and best history of medicine in his time" (Garrison, History of Medicine, p. 196). Dumaitre (Histoire de la medecine et du livre medical, p. 195) stresses Champier's marked interest in the physical production of his books, evident in the typography and design of this distinctive Lyonnais imprint. * Adams C-1318; BM, French Books, 98; Wellcome I.1424; Thorndike V.111-126; P. Allut, Etude biographique et bibliographique sur Symphorien Champier (1859/1972); not in Baudrier.