Hughlings Jackson's deductive science of the nervous system: a product of his thought collective and formative years.

Abstract

This paper examines the life and work of John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911), with particular attention to his early years in London, the "thought collective" into which he was initiated, and the consequent social ties, professional interests, hospital affiliations, scientific pursuits, aims, and ambitions that defined his medical career spanning almost half a century. There exists an abundant body of literature on Jackson, although it is far less extensive and substantive than his own writings (about 350 in number) in understanding his position and attitude concerning the study of diseases of the nervous system. This elucidation of the nature Jackson's pursuits throughout his career draws upon primary sources of information-the elaborate writings of Jackson himself and of his Victorian mentors and confreres. The latter constituted Jackson's thought collective, who contributed to a unique and previously undescribed document: Testimonials of Dr. J. Hughlings Jackson, M.D. (London, 1863). These medical men also contributed to the Medical Times and Gazette and belonged to the London Pathological Society and the New Sydenham Society. Jackson's thought collective and their shared beliefs and pursuits were instrumental in shaping Jackson's career as reflected by his later works. Jackson's professional pursuits and extensive writings marked a lifetime dedicated to developing a "Science of the Nervous System" according to a Millian-Spencerian form of deductive reasoning, to ultimately establish a rational basis for the treatment of nervous disease. Jackson and his contemporaries initiated and developed a deductive ideology and methodology that continue to be widely employed by neurologists today, and thus form the basis of the current neurological paradigm.