Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours

“Passions and Tempers may excite passions and tempers in some of its readers, as a good work of intellectual history should. You will learn a lot from its pages.”

—Washington Post

The humours—blood, phlegm, black bile, and choler—were substances thought to circulate within the body and determine a person’s health, mood, and character. The theory of humours remained an inexact but powerful tool for centuries, surviving scientific changes and offering clarity to physicians.

This one-of-a-kind book follows the fate of these variable and invisible fluids from their Western origin in ancient Greece to their present-day versions. It traces their persistence from medical guidebooks of the past to current health fads, from the testimonies of medical doctors to the theories of scientists, physicians, and philosophers. By intertwining the histories of medicine, science, psychology, and philosophy, Noga Arikha revisits and revises how we think about all aspects of our physical, mental, and emotional selves.

Physicians in ancient Greece believed four humours flowed within the human body—blood, phlegm, black bile, and choler—determining a person's health, mood, and character. Not until the seventeenth century would a more complex view of the anatomy begin to emerge. But by then humoural theory had already become deeply ingrained in Western language and thought—and endures to this day in surprising ways.

Interweaving the histories of medicine, science, psychology, and philosophy, Passions and Tempers explores the uncanny persistence of these variable, invisible fluids. It will change how we view our physical, mental, and emotional selves.

“...a fine job...” - New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating…[Passions and Tempers] challenges us to consider the value, and the meaning, of a discredited theory.” - Salon.com

“...this persistent [humoural] theory...has much to teach us...” - New York Sun

“Passions and Tempers may excite the passions and tempers...as a good work of intellectual history should.” - Washington Post

“...a stimulating work that shows the Western mind nobly grappling with the inscrutable nature of the human body.” - Publishers Weekly

“To Arikha’s immense credit, she provides a thoroughly documented account...” - New York Times Book Review