Gerhard Medicus

Gerhard Medicus (born June 12 1950 in Salzburg) ^[1] is a behavioral biologist and evolutionary psychiatrist from Austria.

Life and Career[edit]

In 1982 he obtained his MD degree from the Innsbruck Medical University. The following year he became research assistant of Rupert Riedl at the Zoological Institute, University of Vienna. Between 1985 and 1988 Medicus pursued a residency in general medical practice at the district hospital in Innsbruck. He additionally served a residency in psychiatry and neurology at the Psychiatric Hospital of Hall in Tirol (1989 – 1993). After completion, Medicus became psychiatrist at this hospital, where he worked from 1994 until 2015. Since 1988 he has also been associated with the Research Unit for Human-Ethology of the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology in Andechs and Seewiesen near Munich. As a free-lance coworker he has cooperated with different research projects in the Trobriand Islands (Papua New Guinea), Eipo in the highlands of Irian Jaya (Indonesia), in the Maluku Islands (Indonesia), in Himbaland (Namibia) as well as in Vanuatu and Burkina Faso. Since 1990 Medicus has additionally lectured in “human ethology” together with Wulf Schiefenhövel and Margret Schleidt at the Institute of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, with Schleidt until 2010 ^[2]. Gerhard Medicus made scientific contributions which are used by textbooks and scientific encyclopedias: e.g. behavioural evolution of vertebrates (i.e. phylogenetic roots of cognition ^[3], possessive behaviour, hierarchy, personality disorder ^[4], gender differences, humanity and moral ^[5], consciousness etc.). He could show, that the psychomotorical development does not follow the biogenetic rule ^[6] (recapitulation theory). Some of his contributions are scientific bases of psychotherapy some deal with the epistemology of interdisciplinarity between human sciences and humanities ^[7] (e.g. Periodic Table of Human Sciences, which elucidates the realm of Tinbergen’s Four Questions). His main scientific contributions are summarized in his book “Being Human - Bridging the Gap between the Sciences of Body and Mind” (2015) ^[8].

Publications[edit]

1985: Evolutionäre Psychologie. In: J. A. Ott, G. P. Wagner, F. M. Wuketits (Hrsg.), Evolution, Ordnung und Erkenntnis, Berlin: Paul Parey, S. 126–150.
1987: “Toward an Etho-Psychology: A Phylogenetic Tree of Behavioral Capabilities Proposed as a Common Basis for Communication between Current Theories in Psychology and Psychiatry.” In: J.R. Feierman (ed.), The Ethology of Psychiatric Populations; Ethology and Sociobiology, Vol. 8, No. 3S (Supplement): 131-150. New York: Elsevier (DOI: 10.1016/0162-3095(87)90025-2).
Medicus G. & S. Hopf, 1990: “The Phylogeny of Male/Female Differences in Sexual Behavior.” In: J.R. Feierman (ed.), Pedophilia, Biosocial Dimensions; pp 122-149. New York: Springer (DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4613-9682-6_5).
1992: “The Inapplicability of the Biogenetic Rule to Behavioral Development.” Human Development, 35, Heft 1: pp 1-8 (DOI:10.1159/000277108).
1995: “Ethological Aspects of Aggression.” Evolution and Cognition, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp 54-63.
2005: “Mapping Transdisciplinarity in Human Sciences.” In: J.W. Lee (ed.), Focus on Gender Identity, pp 95-114. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
2010: “‘Zoon politikon:’ Biopsychological Aspects.” In: Brüne M., Salter F., und McGrew W.C. (eds.), Building Bridges between Anthropology, Medicine and Human Ethology – Tributes to W. Schiefenhövel. Bochum: European University Press
2012: Was uns Menschen verbindet. Humanethologische Angebote zur Verständigung zwischen Leib- und Seelenwissenschaften. Berlin: Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung, ISBN 978-3-86135-582-3 Search this book on .. 2013: 2. Auflage. 2015: 3. Auflage. 2017: 4. korrigierte und erweiterte Auflage, ISBN 978-3-86135-586-1 Search this book on .
2015: Being Human - Bridging the Gap between the Sciences of Body and Mind. Berlin: Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung, ISBN 978-3-86135-584-7 Search this book on . (english edition).

Online Book Reviews[edit]

Gerhard Vollmer (2012, German), Philosoph, http://hpd.de/node/16656
Feierman, Jay (2015). "A Human Ethologist's Perspective on Human Nature" (PDF). Human Ethology Bulletin. 30 (3): 13–15.CS1 maint: Date and year (link)
Alonso, Luis (2015). "La condición humana" (PDF). Mente y Cerebro (in Spanish). 74.CS1 maint: Date and year (link) CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link)
"New Books. Being Human: Bridging the Gap between the Sciences of Body and Mind Hardcover – 2015 by Gerhard Medicus" (PDF). Evolutionary Psychiatry (EPSiG) Newsletter (10). April 2018.

References[edit]

↑ http://daffg.net/index.php?title=Medicus:GerhardMedicus_(*1950)
↑ Zentner, Marcel. "Kolloquium Medicus – Universität Innsbruck". www.uibk.ac.at.
↑ Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1995, 3rd Edition, S 206): Die Biologie menschlichen Verhaltens – Grundriß der Humanethologie, München, Piper; in this book the table from Medicus 1987 (Toward an Etho-Psychology) is republished. Helmut Pechlaner wrote concerning this table in Medicus’ book in the Vetmed-Magazine (2012, 2: p 32) “A fascinating book that conveys the animalistic aspects of our own mirror image in a scientifically structured and sound manner and in doing so succinctly carves out traits that, to some extent, set humans apart from animals. It adds important insights into the central question of who and what we humans really are.”
↑ Medicus is invited speaker at the "3rd International Symposium of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group (EPSIG)" https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/events/find-an-event/3rd-international-symposium-web-version.pdf?sfvrsn=c6afce12_4
↑ Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004, Heidelberg Spectrum Vlg.): Keyword „Humanität“ (2001, Volume 7, p 264)
↑ Frans de Waal (2009): The Age of Empathy. New York, Random House. Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004), Keyword "Biogenetische Grundregel" (1999, Vol. 2, p 12f)
↑ Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004): Keyword „Ethologie“ (2000, Vol. 5, p 210) and „interdisziplinär“ (2001, Vol. 7, p 410), Heidelberg, Spektrum-Vlg; Medicus wrote in his book: „The interdisciplinary scope of discourse is revealed when the subject of enquiry for the central questions is informed by consideration of the relevant reference level“ as can be seen in the Periodic Table of Human Sciences in: Tinbergen's four questions
↑ Wulf Schiefenhövel wrote in the Foreword of the English Edition (p 12): „To date, there is no comprehensive, unifying theory of psychology. The various subdisciplines, from psychoanalysis to the psychology of management and business, have their own theoretical underpinnings. It seems to me that Gerhard Medicus’ analytical concept lays the groundwork for a building in which all members of the family of psychology could feel at home.”

External links[edit]

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[1] ttp://daffg.net/index.php?title=Medicus:GerhardMedicus_(*1950)

[2] Zentner, Marcel. "Kolloquium Medicus – Universität Innsbruck". www.uibk.ac.at.

[3] Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1995, 3rd Edition, S 206): Die Biologie menschlichen Verhaltens – Grundriß der Humanethologie, München, Piper; in this book the table from Medicus 1987 (Toward an Etho-Psychology) is republished. Helmut Pechlaner wrote concerning this table in Medicus’ book in the Vetmed-Magazine (2012, 2: p 32) “A fascinating book that conveys the animalistic aspects of our own mirror image in a scientifically structured and sound manner and in doing so succinctly carves out traits that, to some extent, set humans apart from animals. It adds important insights into the central question of who and what we humans really are.”

[4] Medicus is invited speaker at the "3rd International Symposium of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group (EPSIG)" https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/events/find-an-event/3rd-international-symposium-web-version.pdf?sfvrsn=c6afce12_4

[5] Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004, Heidelberg Spectrum Vlg.): Keyword „Humanität“ (2001, Volume 7, p 264)

[6] Frans de Waal (2009): The Age of Empathy. New York, Random House. Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004), Keyword "Biogenetische Grundregel" (1999, Vol. 2, p 12f)

[7] Lexikon der Biologie (1999-2004): Keyword „Ethologie“ (2000, Vol. 5, p 210) and „interdisziplinär“ (2001, Vol. 7, p 410), Heidelberg, Spektrum-Vlg; Medicus wrote in his book: „The interdisciplinary scope of discourse is revealed when the subject of enquiry for the central questions is informed by consideration of the relevant reference level“ as can be seen in the Periodic Table of Human Sciences in: Tinbergen's four questions

[8] Wulf Schiefenhövel wrote in the Foreword of the English Edition (p 12): „To date, there is no comprehensive, unifying theory of psychology. The various subdisciplines, from psychoanalysis to the psychology of management and business, have their own theoretical underpinnings. It seems to me that Gerhard Medicus’ analytical concept lays the groundwork for a building in which all members of the family of psychology could feel at home.”

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