Gottfried Benn´s "brains" novella from 1916: implications for the philosophy of mind.
Gunter Wolf
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine February 19, 2025 DOI: 10.1186/s13010-025-00165-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Brain Humans National socialism History, 20th century Medicine in literature Philosophy, medical Germany Gottfried benn |
| Key points | The article argues that Benn's novella "Gehirne" dramatizes a failed search for the soul and personality within brain matter, leaving its physician protagonist psychologically unstable and unable to work, and reads the text through philosophy-of-mind concepts. It also presents Benn's early enthusiasm for National Socialism as a possible reason for his limited reception in English-speaking countries. |
Abstract
Gottfried Benn (1886-1956) was a major 20th-century German physician-poet and essayist. He successfully completed his medical studies and worked across several hospitals and disciplines, including pathology, performing many autopsies. Later in life, Benn ran his own practice to treat skin and venereal diseases in Berlin for many years. Benn is not well-known in English-speaking countries and only a few of his poems have been translated into English so far. One possible reason for this may have been his initial enthusiasm for National Socialism (as documented in essays, see below), which led to a break with other authors of his generation who had to emigrate. His novella collection "Gehirne" (Brains), published in 1918, was a significant contribution to expressionist short prose. In this work, Dr. Rönne (Benn's alter ego) searches in vain for the soul and personality in the brain matter. This leads to increasing psychological instability and depression, and Rönne can no longer carry out his medical work. The purpose of this article is to familiarize the interested reader with Benn's biography and to analyze the novella in more detail, especially in terms of the concepts of the mind's philosophy.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |