Die Geschichte der Seele

This 1830 book (reissued in its 1850 edition) combines Enlightenment and Christian ideas to probe the essence of human nature.

The German scientist Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (1780–1860) participated in the debates of his time on animal magnetism, clairvoyance and dreams, and attempted to reconcile Enlightenment philosophy and Christian faith. This two-volume work, reissued in its expanded 1850 edition, presents Schubert's views on the human body, soul and spirit.This is the fourth, revised and expanded 1850 edition of an influential two-volume work originally published in 1830 by the German scientist and philosopher Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (1780–1860). Schubert studied theology and medicine, and taught natural history at Erlangen and Munich, specialising in botany, forestry and mineralogy. He also lectured on topics including animal magnetism, clairvoyance and dreams, and attempted to reconcile Enlightenment philosophy with Christian faith. This book presents Schubert's views on human nature as body, soul and spirit, and on humankind's place in the natural order. Volume 1 introduces Schubert's ideal of a harmonious balance between opposing forces, contrasting the animate and the inanimate and describing the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms and their interactions. It then focuses on human anatomy and physiology, and discusses the senses, heredity, sleep and death, and the differences between humans and other animals.