Boris Sidis

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Boris Sidis
Pioneering Psychopathologist "Our asylums are driving people crazy."
Born	October 12, 1867 Berdychiv, Ukraine, Russia
Died	October 24, 1923 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA

Boris Sidis, Ph.D., M.D. (October 12, 1867 - October 24, 1923) was a Ukraine¹-born American psychologist, psychiatrist, and physician. He completed four degrees at Harvard, the A.B., A.M., Ph.D., and M.D. and studied under William James. He was influential in the early 20th century, known for pioneering work in psychopathology (founding the New York State Psychopathic Institute and the Journal of Abnormal Psychology), hypnoid states, and group psychology. He is also noted for vigorously applying the Theory of Evolution to the study of psychology. He vehemently opposed World War I viewing war as a social disease, and denigrated the widely held concept of eugenics. He sought to provide insight into why people behave as they do, particularly in cases of a mob frenzy or religious mania. With the publication of his book Nervous Ills: Their Cause and Cure² in 1922, he summarized much of his previous work in diagnosing, understanding, and treating nervous disorders. He saw fear as an underlying cause of much human mental suffering and problematic behavior. He pointed out the intimate relationship between anxiety and sleep disorders, explaining the connection by noting that anxiety is, evolutionarily speaking, a survival mechanism.

Sidis applied his own psychological approaches to the raising of his son, William James Sidis, in whom he wished to promote a high intellectual capacity. His son has been considered among the most intelligent people ever (with an IQ broadly estimated at 250-300). However, after receiving much publicity for his childhood feats, he came to live an eccentric life, and died in relative obscurity.

With Boris's fulminations against mainstream psychology and Sigmund Freud, he died ostricized by the community he helped to create.

1 Partial bibliography
2 Notes
3 Sources
4 External links

[edit] Partial bibliography

The Psychology of Suggestion: A Research into the Subconscious Nature of Man and Society (1898)
Psychopathological Researches: Studies in Mental Dissociation (1902)
Multiple Personality: An Experimental Investigation into Human Individuality (1904)
An Experimental Study of Sleep (1909)
Philistine and Genius (1911)
The Psychology of Laughter (1913)
The Foundations of Normal and Abnormal Psychology (1914)
Symptomatology, Psychognosis, and Diagnosis of Psychopathic Diseases (1914)
The Causation and Treatment of Psychopathic Diseases (1916)
The Source and Aim of Human Progress: A Study in Social Psychology and Social Pathology (1919)
Nervous Ills: Their Cause and Cure (1922)

[edit] Notes

Note 1: Sidis' birthplace is commonly listed as Kiev. However, a biographical note from his daughter (http://www.sidis.net/Borisabout.htm) says he was born in "Berditchev," a small town about 150 km SW of Kiev.
Note 2: His writings are available at http://www.sidis.net/boris_sidis_archives.htm

[edit] Sources

Wallace, Amy, The prodigy: A biography of William James Sidis, America's greatest child prodigy, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. 1986. ISBN 0-525-24404-2

"Boris Sidis." Dictionary of American biography base set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC