An essay on the beneficent distribution of the sense of pain / by G.A. Rowell.

  • Rowell, G. A. (George Augustus), 1804-1892.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An essay on the beneficent distribution of the sense of pain / by G.A. Rowell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ON THE SENSE OF PAIN. In 1847 I submitted a paper to the Ashmolean Society, On the Beneficent Distribution of the Sense of Pain. I did so with some hesitation, and had, at that time, no idea of giving further publicity to it; but from its favour- able reception, and the interest it seemed to excite, I was induced to send a copy to the late Professor Jameson, who published it in the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Oct. 1847; from whence it was copied into the American Journal of Science and Art, and some other works. A favourable opinion was expressed on it by many persons well qualified to judge on the subject, amongst whom was the late Dr. J. Kidd, the then Professor of Anatomy, and author of a Bridgewater Treatise. The only expression of opinion in deprecation of my views, of which I am aware, was an article in Chambers' Journal, entitled, Do ani- mals feel pain? There are many points of interest connected with an inquiry into the use and distribution of the Sense of Pain ; it is therefore surprising that so httle has been written on the subject. I did hope my former paper might have stimu- lated some one to take up the question, who was well qua- lified to discuss it in all its bearings, but I am not aware of any publication of such a character: the few articles on Pain, which now and then appear in the Zoologist, the Naturalist, &c., seem to be written as an excuse for the entomologist and angler, rather than in reference to its im- portance to man and other creatures. Under these circumstances, I again venture to bring the subject forward, although I know I am wanting in the B