Neurology and the Novel: Alexander Monro primus and secundus, Robinson Crusoe, and the Problem of Sensibility

Alexander Monro primus (1697--1767) wrote several influential works on the anatomy of the nervous system. His experiments, continued by his son Monro secundus, exhibit the shift from mechanism to vitalism that laid new emphasis on the means by which the nerves convey sensation. Apparent allusions to Robinson Crusoe in an essay written by Monro primus for his daughter in 1739 suggest that his interest in the problem of sensibility may have been raised by his reading of that novel.