The Dual Diagnosis Of Medicine And Culture:A Study Of Burton's Anatomy Of Melancholy

Robert Burton(1577-1640)was a clergyman,writer and physician in early modern England.Burton's master work was The Anatomy of Melancholy,which mainly reflects the ideas of medicine,theology,psychology and so on.Through this book,Burton formulates the causes,symptoms and prevention of the Melancholy,and provides a wide range of treatments to the sickness.This book was once very popular at that time and was a bestseller.More than that,Anatomy contributes to the research of early modern Europe medicine,theology,philosophy and psychology,which is a very reliable source,and has a certain historical significance.The British society in the 16 th and 17 th centuries went through a series of social changes.The shocks brought by foreign wars,civil wars and religious reforms left great psychological scars on the people of that society.During this period,political turmoil,frequent wars,traditional religious belief system was impacted,and the widening gap between the rich and poor in the society led to a strong sense of disillusionment and fear among people at that time.All kinds of thoughts were also the reflection of the inner entanglement of scholars in this period.In this social context,"Melancholy" was not only in the rampant growth in Europe,but also had become a hot topic of scholars' debate and was constantly given new meaning: In ancient Greece,the melancholy was originally regarded as a physical illness,which resulted from the "black bile".But in the period of early modern England,it also widely supposed to a kind of the diseases of the soul.By means of The Anatomy of Melancholy,Burton made a elaborate and systematic analysis of the concept,causes,symptoms and prevention on the melancholy,and provided a large number of possible and feasible treatments at that time.In addition to its function as a medical manual,Burton also analyzed people's psychology through this book,and recognized that people have certain freedom of will and tried to overthrow the will theory of Calvinistto establish a new spiritual comfort.Furthermore,Burton also take the opportunity to accuse abundant unfair and corrupt phenomena in the society at that time.The Anatomy of Melancholy is not only a medical manual for depression,but also a "bible" to soothe people's spirit and soul.In addition to treating human's diseases,it can also be used to project and treat "social diseases".It not only meets the needs of medical practice,but also has cultural implication,which has certain enlightenment significance for future medical and psychological research and various moral and cultural phenomena in today's society.