Auguste Forel

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Auguste Forel
Auguste-Henri Forel towards the end of his life
Auguste-Henri Forel towards the end of his life
Born September 1, 1848
Morges, Switzerland
Died July 27, 1931
Yvorne
Nationality Switzerland
Fields Myrmecology
neuroanatomist
psychiatrist
Known for ants

Auguste-Henri Forel (September 1, 1848 – July 27, 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist and psychiatrist, notable for his investigations into the brain structure of humans and ants. Forel is also known for his early contributions to sexology.[1]

[edit] Biography

Born in LaGracieuse, near Morges, Switzerland, Forel had a diverse and mixed career as a thinker on many subjects. In the field of his psychiatric work he was a significant influence on Sigmund Freud[citation needed]. He was appointed professor of psychiatry in 1879 at the University of Zurich Medical School. He not only ran the Burghölzli asylum there, but continued to publish papers on insanity, prison reform, and social morality. Around 1900 Forel was a eugenicist.[2] Forel suffered a stroke that paralyzed his right side in 1912, but he taught himself to write with his left hand and was able to continue his studies. By 1914 he was a good friend of the eminent British entomologist Horace Donisthorpe, with whom he stayed in Switzerland;[3] his ardent socialist views frequently caused political arguments between the two. In 1920 he became a member of the Bahá'í Faith,[4] abandoning his earlier racist and socialist views saying,

This is the true religion of human social good, without dogmas or priests, uniting all men on this small terrestrial globe of ours. I have become a Bahá’í. May this religion live and prosper for the good of mankind; this is my most ardent wish

—Auguste Forel, [5]

From `Abdu'l-Bahá he received a letter about the differences between the mineral, vegetable, animal and human worlds, the spiritual nature of man and proofs of the existence of God.

His myrmecological five-volume magnum opus, Le Monde Social des Fourmis, was published in 1923. Donisthorpe heavily criticises it in the foreword to the 1927 edition of British Ants: their life histories and classification, saying of the work:

This, although in many ways a fine work, is somewhat disappointing in that it is not up to date, and that the opportunity has been made for airing the author's socialistic views. I should wish in particular to protest against the ants being employed as a supposed weapon in political controversy. In my opinion an entomological work is not the appropriate means for the introduction of political theories of any kind, still less for their glaring advertisement

—Auguste Forel

He died in Yvorne at age 82.

Forel International School is named after him.

[edit] Works

Partial List

  • Les Fourmis de la Suisse, Systématique, notices anatomiques et physiologiques, architecture, distribution géographique, nouvelles expériences et observations de moeurs. Bale, Genève, Lyon, H. Georg. (1874).
  • Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt V.Prof. Dr. V. Buttel Reepen in den Jahren, 1911-1912. Zool. Jahrd.Jena Abt. F.Syst. 36: 1-148.(1913).
  • Fourmis de Rhodesia, etc. recoltees par M. Arnold, le Dr. H. Brauns et K. Fikendey. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belgique. 57: 108-147.(1913).
  • Le monde social des fourmis du globe comparé à celui de l’homme.Genève, Kundig, 1921-1923, 5 volumes (1921-1923).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Auguste Forel - The First Swiss Sexologist. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  2. ^ The Survival of the Fittest, Chapter II
  3. ^ The Entomologist's Record, vol XXV, Nos 1-2 (1915)
  4. ^ Swiss Baha'is Celebrate 100 Years of Contributing to World Civilization. Baha'i Switzerland. National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Switzerland (2003). Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
  5. ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-020-9. p.375
  • Parent, André (Aug 2003). "Auguste Forel on ants and neurology". The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques 30 (3): 284-91. PMID 12945958. 
  • Akert, K (Oct 1993). "August Forel--cofounder of the neuron theory (1848-1931)". Brain Pathol. 3 (4): 425-30. PMID 8293199. 
  • Nica-Udangiu, S. "[Auguste-Henri Forel (1848-1931)]". Revista de medicină internă, neurologie, psihiatrie, neurochirurgie, dermato-venerologie. Neurologie, psihiatrie, neurochirurgie 32 (3): 227-32. PMID 2962260. 
  • Bálint, I (Sep 1981). "[August Forel (1848-1931)]". Orvosi hetilap 122 (38): 2359-61. PMID 7031560. 
  • STECK, H (1950). "[Commemoration of the birth of Auguste Forel.]". Schweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie. Archives suisses de neurologie et de psychiatrie. Archivio svizzero di neurologia e psichiatria 65 (1-2): 421-5. PMID 15431005. 
  • HERRLINGER, R (Jul 1951). "[Kokoschka's "portrait of professor Forel".]". Münchener medizinische Wochenschrift (1950) 93 (30): 1523-5. PMID 14863372. 
  • Kyle, R A; Shampo M A (Jun 1978). "Auguste-Henri Forel". JAMA 239 (26): 2762. PMID 349184.