SPEAKER: Tara Abraham, Dept. of History, University of Guelph

ABSTRACT:

Warren S. McCulloch (1898-1969) was a maverick. Trained in psychology, philosophy, neurophysiology, and psychiatry, he saw past disciplinary boundaries in his quest to generate models of the mind and provide a foundation for what was at the time a very eclectic discipline of psychiatry. In this process, he stood as a central figure in the cybernetics movement of the 1940s and 1950s, and promoted theoretical modelling as a valuable tool in science and medicine. My remarks will outline the trajectories of McCulloch's life and the institutional settings that allowed him to move freely between the fields of science, medicine, and philosophy.