Alcmaeon lived in the city of Croton, Greece and was the son of Peirithous. His dates are of much controversy and are only referenced in a few excerpts, all of which relate him to other men of the time whose dates are also only speculated. Most speculations, however, place him as living around the fourth and fifth centuries BC and having published his book between 500 and 450 BC.
             He is best known for his medical writings and as more of a philosopher-scientist than anything else, and his thoughts on the subject are found to be quite original for his time. He wrote much on the human body and was the first to identify the brain as the center or our intelligence and senses and to bring forth that sensory organs were connected to the brain by channels. He also was the first philosopher to develop a worthwhile argument for the immortality of the soul and death. He also defined health and disease by using a cleaver political metaphor, and discussed topics in physiology such as sleep and the cause of death. He also proposed views on astronomy and seemed to have a great impact on other Greek philosophers to come.
             In regards to Alcmaeon's thoughts on the brain as being the center of our bodies functioning he believed that although each sense has its own sense organ, our own awareness and perception of these senses was possible because our brain received different sense reports. For example, sense organs like the eye and the ear communicated directly with the brain through special passages or channels. Modern science and medical advancements have been able to prove this theory true. The brain is now known to be the center of perception in our bodies and interprets the sensory components of our bodies from such like our nervous system.
             Alcmaeon also believed in the immortality of the soul. He believed that the soul was immortal because it resembled immortal things. Alcmaeon also believed that the soul was always in moti...