A case of Charcotian grande hystérie: Observation by Julien Offray de la Mettrie in 1738

Abstract

Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751) is a French philosopher who owes his fame to his materialist ideas. He was also a provocative atheist who used his scathing pen to defend the first concept of a theory of mind. We offer here one of his little-known works, reporting on a case of grande hystérie, as Jean-Martin Charcot (1825-1893) and his student Paul Richer (1849-1933) would describe the condition 150 years later. After discussing how La Mettrie interpreted this observation, we will compare it to interpretations developed during the 19th century, in particular by the La Salpêtrière school. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.