Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera (2 December 1562 in Alcaraz – c. 1646) was a Spanish writer in holistic medical philosophy in the late 16th – early 17th century. She was interested in the interaction between the physical and psychological phenomena; therefore, she wrote a collection of medical and psychological treatises that target human nature and explain the effects of emotions on the body and soul. She analyzed theoretical claims of ancient philosophers and wrote an early theory of what is now considered applied psychology.
Early life Luisa Oliva Sabuco de Nantes Barrera was born in Alcaraz, Spain, in 1562 and was baptised in the Holy Trinity church on 2 December of that same year. Her mother was Francisca de Cozar and her father was Don Miguel Sabuco y Alvarez. Although not much is known about her formal education, it is evident that Oliva Sabuco was taught medicine by her father. She was well acquainted with classical and contemporary philosophy and was knowledgeable about medical theory. By 26 December 1585, at the age of 23, she married Don Acacio de Buedo. By age 25, she had already published a novel far ahead of her time.
Theories
Mind–body coexistence Sabuco combined ancient Greek and Christian philosophies, along with Aristotelian views in order to explain how the mind and body interact in a holistic manner. She believed human nature to be a single concept, where the rational soul and spiritual soul must co-occur for a human being to exist. A human being would be considered a corpse with no potential for living when it lacked either of the two souls. Sabuco agreed with Aristotle's vision of form and matter in relation to the body: they both believed the interaction between the mind and body was the formal organization of a whole living human being. Her theory differed in the sense that the human being could not exist until the divine soul/mind coexisted with the body/matter. Her approach to the mind–body interaction mirrored that of Plato's. The mind was in charge of moral judgments and reasons, which caused the body to react in certain ways. Therefore, the body carried out the moral judgments that were processed. Sabuco placed emphasis on self-knowledge and the capacity of the mind to exercise free will. Self-knowledge and ethical decisions allowed hope, health, strength, and a natural lifespan to be placed on the human body while free will directed the passions and emotions.
Harmony and a healthy state According to Sabuco, the soul was divided into three parts: the sensitive, the biological, and the intellectual soul, all of which would be in a harmonic balance with one another. The balance between the four humours, hot, cold, wet, and dry, must also be in harmony in order for the human organ system to be in a healthy state. Sabuco used a temperature-humidity schema, derived from Hippocrates, to evaluate illnesses and individuals’ state of health. Although her ideas originated from Hippocrates's four bodily humours, Sabuco denied the importance of his theory and insisted the focus lie on the severity of temperature and humidity. For example, illnesses, disabilities and premature death were results of disharmony among the three parts of the soul or the temperature-humidity schema. Sabuco also coined the term chilo, which was a white liquid energizing force that travelled through a complex network of anatomical channels from one organ system to another. Chilo maintained the proper temperature and humidity within the body; nonetheless, an imbalance could lead to negative states of health. The purpose of chilo was to communicate movement to the bodily organs and orient them to carry out the goal meant to be accomplished.
Moral philosophy Sabuco's theory of moral philosophy incorporated traditional views of virtue ethics. Good and evil were intertwined in the world and could banish each other. Her theory stated how something good could be present in evil and something evil could be present in good. There was never such a concept as pure evil or pure good. Within her theory of human nature, only two evils existed: avoidable diseases and premature ageing. Sabuco promoted moderation and temperance to control emotions and passions; her theory originated from Plato's concept of sophrosyne, where self-understanding is used to obtain wisdom and virtue. However, she referenced temperance as the most important virtue that was obtained through self-knowledge. Temperance and wisdom were then labelled as the answers to evil because they sustained human life and provided peace, happiness, and contentment between emotions and the soul.
Cosmology The second part of her work described astronomical and geological events and how they support the theory of human nature. It was important to learn how the macrocosm functions because humans were a microcosm within the broader world. Understanding how the world came to be would teach humans how to live in that world. A person's condition, whether improving or declining, was related to cosmology. Such topics included the moon, the magnitude of the Earth and its atmosphere, solar and lunar eclipses and the magnitude of the cosmos. An individual's life cycle would improve or decline just like a moon's cycle would be waxing or waning. Within the macrocosm, the moon was defined as the brain of the world, which provided moisture and growth to its waters. Microcosm, on the other hand, described the sun as the heart of the world, which gave warmth and life to the world. The emphasis was placed on the brain, making it more significant than the heart, as the moon was more vital than the sun.
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