Critical Transitions in Nature and Society

“voluntary animal motion” interested physicians, scholars, and philosophers throughout history for a variety of purposes such as relating “voluntary motion” to the soul and understanding medical conditions through comparative anatomy. The research presented in this monograph includes not only a careful examination of different theories regarding animal motion, but also an analysis of how these theories developed within the context of changing medical and academic paradigms. Another interesting and very useful feature of this work is its inclusion of extensive indexes and bibliography. The indexes include ones for Latin terms, Greek terms, book titles, names, and a general index. Due to the medical nature of its subject and the periods covered, the Latin and Greek indexes in particular prove invaluable to the book. Together, the bibliography of primary and secondary sources and the indexes comprise over 200 pages of reference material. This hefty, well-researched volume will be useful as both an analysis of early theories on voluntary animal motion and a reference source for this topic. Anthony J. Dellureficio, Centre for the History of Science, Technology & Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom