Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, Otago School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Clin Anat. 2012 Apr;25(3):407-13. doi: 10.1002/ca.21219. Epub 2011 Jul 12.
The search for the soul has been documented since the fifth Century BCE when philosophers and physicians began to explore the role of human consciousness and emotion. Traditionally in western civilization, there have been two distinct followings with some believing that the brain was the seat of the soul and others believing that this role belonged to the heart. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of medical students towards the heart and brain during their anatomy laboratory dissections to evaluate if any extra meaning is given to these organs and where they perceived the origin of the soul. Medical students (n = 16) at the University of Otago were interviewed in regards to their thoughts about body dissection and particularly their views towards the brain and the heart. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following the dissection of these two organs, and then transcribed and analyzed. There were mixed opinions among students with some experiencing difficulty dissecting the brain because this organ had special meaning to them; they perceived it as the organ that "made a person who they were." Others commented on their emotional reactions when removing the heart, which they viewed as the "seat of emotion." Some students experienced emotional and physical reactions to these two dissections and Anatomy faculty need to be aware that students may struggle because they viewed these organs as special. A dialogue emerged amongst some medical students on the seat of the soul which gave extra meaning to the dissection.
自公元前五世纪以来，哲学家和医生开始探索人类意识和情感的作用，对灵魂的探索就有了记录。在西方文明中，传统上有两种截然不同的观点，一些人认为大脑是灵魂的所在地，而另一些人则认为这个角色属于心脏。本研究的目的是评估医学生在解剖实验室解剖过程中对心脏和大脑的态度，以评估是否赋予这些器官任何额外的意义，以及他们认为灵魂的起源在哪里。奥塔哥大学的医学生（n=16）接受了关于他们对身体解剖的想法的采访，特别是他们对大脑和心脏的看法。在解剖这两个器官后，进行了半结构化访谈，然后对访谈进行了转录和分析。学生们的意见不一，一些人在解剖大脑时感到困难，因为他们认为这个器官对他们有特殊意义；他们认为大脑是“使人成为他们自己”的器官。其他人则评论了他们在取出心脏时的情绪反应，他们认为心脏是“情感的所在地”。一些学生对这两次解剖产生了情绪和身体反应，解剖学教师需要意识到，学生可能会感到困难，因为他们认为这些器官是特殊的。一些医学生就灵魂的所在地展开了对话，这给解剖带来了额外的意义。
