On 3 Apr 2006 at 5:47, Allen Esterson wrote: > > There has been much discussion of the cause of Darwin's chronic illness > (regular bouts of nausea and allied stomach complaints), from his > having picked up Chagras´ disease from a blood-sucking bug when he was > in South America to various theories that it was psychosomatic. (A lot > of hobby-horses have been ridden in pursuit of a psychosomatic > explanation. Bowlby, for instance, put it down largely to separation > anxiety arising from Darwin's early loss of his mother, when he was > eight.)
Having an imperfect memory but a good file, I notice that Allen also pointed out approximately a year ago (May 16, 2005, to be exact) that a new hypothesis suggests that Darwin's problem was lactose intolerance. In my reply back then, I cited the source of this hypothesis, which was Campbell & Matthews (2005). They suggested a close match between Darwin's symptoms and this disorder, relieved only when Darwin was known to have stopped taking milk. Sounds like a better idea than Bowlby's silly separation anxiety theory. Stephen Campbell, A., & Matthews, s. (2005). Darwin's illness revealed. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 81, 248-251. Available on-line at: http://pmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/81/954/248 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
