Melancholy and Saturn
In this essay I will argue that there’s a connection between being and intellect and melancholic, also that theory suggests it has an astrological tie between the planets in which you are born. Time and time again, we hear all different types of things about the planets and melancholia, however, have we really learned anything about it? In today’s society there is always talk about one thing or another, but when does this talk all stop and it becomes reality? Intellects and melancholia are the connection between planet Saturn and suffering melancholy. How does one view this and are they right or wrong for thinking this way. What are some of the ideas and thoughts of others that has been fascinated by this topic and why are they so interested in it. “Learned People and Melancholy” by Marsillo Ficino, is a great place to start looking.
He believed insanity brought on by black bile is “divine madness”; stating different qualities from sacred madness and general madness are influenced under the celestial world. Ficino astrological influences came from being born under the sign of Saturn. Planets reflecting important activity of scholars were determined by finding truth from the guidance of Saturn. “The first celestial, the second nature, and the third human” (Ficino [89]). According to Ficino, Saturn provides men in solitude, whose minds are withdrawn from celestial things and physiological melancholy, and the Saturn a man can embrace his fate to the will of stars. Black bile and phlegm are part of the four humors of Hippocratic medicine in Greek times. Black bile is an element of earth described as dry and cold, and Ficino believed when a learned person is melancholic they become more intelligent[:] ...
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...ntelligence might be two different mutually exclusive matters yet melancholia implies intelligence. Agreeing with Ficino’s theory, it is more of a symbiosis between the two expressed through a variety of situations. People become melancholic because we become aware of things. Melancholic temperament is a result of continuous acts of awareness and consequential activity. The quotes listed in this essay provide evidence that indeed, Ficino convinced certain forms of melancholia and the effects on learned people in general. This last quote is what leaves an impression those philosophers, poets, and artists are yet melancholic and genius: “But of all learned people, those especially are oppressed by black bile, who, being sedulously devoted to the study of philosophy, recall their mind from the body and corporeal things and apply it to incorporeal things” (Ficino [90]).
Furthermore, the basic knowledge all these doctors knew were: There are only four elements in the world,each element represented a humour, and all four humours are balanced in the human body. Humours are “natural bodily fluids. They correspond to the elements and have various qualities: cold, dry, hot, and moist.” (Ross) The four elements are: earth, air, water, and fire. The Humour for earth was black bile meaning melancholic or sad - black bile really is the foam off the top of blood. Air’s humour is blood meaning sanguine or lusty. Water’s humour may gross people out… it’s phlegm meaning phlegmatic or sluggish. Lastly fire’s humour is yellow bile meaning temperamental or angry - yellow bile is also choler (Ross). All four humours are supposed to be balance the cause of diseases were if one was out of balance (Alchin).
Introduction Franz Kappus, a 19-year old student, wanted to solicit a career advice and a literary critique for the poems he had written (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Kappus solicited the advice and critique of Rainer Maria Rilke, a pioneer Austrian poet (“Rainer Maria Rilke: Letters to a Young Poet” 1). Rilke wrote ten letters in order to provide assistance to the needs of Kappus. These letters were in Rilke’s work, entitled, “Letters to a Young Poet. ” There are numerous advantages and complication in the humanistic approaches to the study of psychology.
“The word ‘hospitality’ in the New Testament comes from two Greek words. The first word means ‘love’ and the second word means ‘strangers’. It’s a word that means love of strangers”-Nancy Leigh Demoss. The idea of Xenia might be one of the most important themes in the Odyssey. It is the Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. In the Odyssey, Homer really shows the reader how important this value is. The theme Xenia is a major topic in Homer’s the Odyssey; by giving us many examples of what happens if you show good or bad hospitality. Homer clearly emphasizes the importance of Xenia to the plot by showing that people who showed good hospitality had a better fate opposed to the people that did not.
Medieval doctors believed that illness was provoked when the Four Humors were unbalanced. Greek physician, Hippocrates elaborated the Four Humors into a medical theory. He believed that certain personalities, moods, and illnesses arose from an excess or a deficient amount of bodily fluids: sanguine
...ve them of their inspiration and interfere with their creativity. It is a thorny, and relatively new, question, and Jamison merely outlines the controversy without offering an opinion on what should be done to rectify the situation, leaving the door open for further research. Mental illness in artists is a fascinating subject, and Jamison does an excellent job of providing a through portrait of many artists who have grappled with manic-depressive disorder, in addition to exploring how these disorders affect creativity and productivity. Jamison also maintains an awareness of the objections to her attempts to draw a correlation
In 1621, Robert Burton wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy and it was a huge hit. Published just before the Industrial Revolution in England, this book served many as the age of anxiety began to gain momentum. Burton’s main point was that melancholy is a part of life, part of what it means to be human,
The history of psychology dates back to the times of the ancient Greeks, and Chinese philosophers 4,000 years ago. During this time span numerous thinkers had strived to answer the riddle of the human mind. This paper will focus on the development of Humanistic Psychology primarily from the 1950’s to the present day. Humanistic Psychology had played an important role in the shaping of todays clinical applications for mental health. Also known as the Third Force, humanistic approach had offered a unique explanation for describing and assessing human behavior, which ran contrary to both behaviorism and psychodynamic theory that was popular at the time. In congruence with the emphasize on internal development this paper will highlight the history
There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are emotional necessities to ultimately keep us happy. No piece of literature these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Throughout the course of this book there is one major emotional theme: love.
Human beings stand alone in the ability to meditate; to think about one’s own thinking. While humans view this as a positive aspect or even a dominant trait of their own species, this same ability can lead the thinker down a dark and depressing path. Found in the Exeter Book of Old English poetry, “The Wanderer” displays how this same ability that allows humans to grasp meaning and reason, feel a purpose and use their imaginations can also resurface memories of sadness as well as remind one of better times.
Hippocrates believed the human body was made up of four liquid categories (humours) which were; blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile, and if either one of these liquids were out of balance then you became ill and attention would be needed by a doctor to balance out the liquids to make you better. Priests as well...
The early Babylonian, Chinese and Egyptian population also thought of depression as being a demonic possession and exorcism techniques to heal the illness. They used techniques such as beatings and starvation. A Greek physician, named Hippocrates thought that personality traits and mental illnesses were attributed to a balance or imbalance of body fluids named humors. The four humors were yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood. Hippocrates divides mental illnesses into different components: mania, melancholia(depression), and phrenitis (brain fever). Moving on many years forward, during the renaissance in Italy in the 14th through the 17th century mental illness was apparent. Witch hunts and killings of the mentally ill were popular in Europe. Some doctors at this time adopted Hippocrates theory and thought mental illnesses were due to natural causes and they thought witches were not mentally correct and were people in need of humane
Marano, Hara Estroff. “The Season of SADness?” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC. Psychology Today, 1 July 2002. Web. 26 November 2011.
There are many explanations to the cause of depression but in this essay I will discuss the two main explanations in relation to the title; the biological and the psychological explanation. This creates the nature nurture argument, questioning what the cause of depression is. The psychological explanation to depression is that of which suggests it is a symptom of today’s society and can be split into three sub-explanations, the psychodynamic, cognitive and socio-cultural factors.
The link between creativity and mental illnesses is a topic that has been debated for centuries. The great philosophers Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle all discussed the connection as well. Even in today’s society, there is an ever-present stereotype that creative individuals (i.e. poets, writers, artists, designers, etc.) suffer from bouts of depression, mania, or mental illnesses. It is an age-old question: does depression/mania effect creativity? There is a lot of evidence that both supports and denies the truth behind this question. Some researchers believe the link between depression and creativity is strictly genetic while others believe there is none at all. The argument for this discussion will mostly support the argument that creativity is absolutely a result, cause, and remedy of mania. The manic-depressive illnesses discussed in this debate will mostly include bipolar disorder, mania, and depression. However, there are a lot of factors that play a role in this debate. To discuss, we must first define creativity, the creative process, manic-depressive illnesses, and rumination.
"Genius can only breathe freely in an atmosphere of freedom. Persons of genius are, ex vi termini, more individual than any other people—less capable, consequently, of fitting themselves, without hurtful compression, into any of the small number of moulds which society provides in order to save its members the trouble of forming their own character."