Félix Voisin (19 November 1794 – 23 November 1872) was a French

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

born in

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

. He studied medicine in Paris, where in 1819 he earned his doctorate. He was a disciple of

Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol (3 February 1772 – 12 December 1840) was a French psychiatrist. Early life and education Born and raised in Toulouse, Esquirol completed his education at Montpellier. He came to Paris in 1799 where he worked a ...

(1772–1840), and a colleague of

Jean-Pierre Falret Jean-Pierre Falret (; 26 April 1794 – 28 October 1870) was a French psychiatrist. He was born and died in Marcilhac-sur-Célé.

(1794–1870), with whom he founded a private mental institution at

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris w ...

in 1822. Later he provided services for mentally disabled people at a hospice on the rue de Sèvres, relocating to the

Bicêtre Hospital The Bicêtre Hospital is located in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It lies 4.5 km (2.8 miles) from the center of Paris. The Bicêtre Hospital was originally planned as a military hospital, with constru ...

in 1840, where he worked with the mentally impaired until his retirement in 1865. One of Voison's better known assistants was educator

Édouard Séguin Édouard Séguin (January 20, 1812 – October 28, 1880) was a French physician and educationist born in Clamecy, Nièvre. He is remembered for his work with children having cognitive impairments in France and the United States. Background and c ...

(1812–1880). Voisin was a leading advocate of the

phrenological Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

theories of

Franz Joseph Gall Franz Josef Gall (; 9 March 175822 August 1828) was a German neuroanatomist, physiologist, and pioneer in the study of the localization of mental functions in the brain. Claimed as the founder of the pseudoscience of phrenology, Gall was an earl ...

(1758–1828) and

Johann Spurzheim Johann Gaspar Spurzheim (31 December 1776 – 10 November 1832) was a German physician who became one of the chief proponents of phrenology, which was developed c. 1800 by Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828). Biography Spurzheim was born near Tri ...

(1776–1832), and along with

Louis Delasiauve Louis Delasiauve Louis Jean François Delasiauve (14 October 1804, Garennes-sur-Eure – 5 June 1893, Paris) was a French psychiatrist. In 1830 he earned his doctorate in Paris, and for the next eight years practiced medicine in Ivry-la-Bataille ...

(1804–1893) and Jacques-Étienne Belhomme (1800–1880), he is considered to be one of the more prominent members in the French school of phrenology. Voison was particularly interested in the role phrenology could be used to understand the

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

mental retardation Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signific ...

and

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

. Voisin also did extensive research of

satyriasis Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

and

nymphomania Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...

, and was interested in the relationship between hypersexuality and

hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

. In his 1851 treatise ''Analyse de l'entendement humain'' (Analysis of Human Understanding), Voisin described three major facets of human functionality, which he referred to as moral, intellect and animal factions. These classifications predated, and in a general sense are a parallel to the

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

concepts of

superego The id, ego, and super-ego are a set of three concepts in psychoanalytic theory describing distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus (defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche). The three agents are theoretical const ...

, ego and id.

Selected writings

* 1826 – ''Des causes morales et physiques des maladies mentales'' * 1839 – ''De l'Homme animal'' * 1847 – ''Du traitement intelligent de la folie et application de quelques uns de ses principes à la reforme des criminels'' * 1851 – ''Analyse de l'entendement humain''

References

''Masters of the Mind: Exploring the Story of Mental Illness''
Theodore Milton

(translated biography) * ttps://books.google.com/books?id=syWMbPn-ymkC&pg=PA42 ''Inventing the Feeble Mind''by James W. Trent, James W. Trent Jr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Voisin, Felix French psychiatrists 1794 births 1872 deaths People from Le Mans