Alexis Carrel – författare

Winner of the Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine, Dr. Alexis Carrel, one of the truly great scientists who ever lived, tells us what man is in terms of his mental and physical make-up—and how he can become the actual rule of his universe if he learns to use wisely his amazing, God-given powers.“The wisest, profoundest, most valuable book that I have come upon in the American literature of our century”—Will Durant, Author of Story of Philosophy“Significant, candid, courageous and genuinely sincere”—New York Times“Provocative and stimulating”—Saturday Review“A work of genius…the spaciousness, the variety of outlook, the brave disregard for currently accepted beliefs that characterize great books”—New York Herald Tribune

In this present volume, the author of Man the Unknown makes clear why civilisation is on the edge of an abyss and propounds three basic laws of nature in which, he believes, lies mankind’s only salvation: Effects of Chemical Factors, Effects of Physical Factors, and Effects of Physiological Habits.

Dr. Alexis Carrel was born near Lyon, France, in 1873. He obtained a degree in medicine from this city and a degree in science from Dijon. After learning and teaching in Lyon for several years, he moved to the United States of America in 1905 and worked at the Rockefeller Institute for Scientific Research in New York, where he remained for thirty years. Then he retired from work and returned to France in 1939. Following his return to his native country, he was appointed The French Ministry of Health assigned him a special mission related to the war. This mission was a continuation of another similar mission he undertook during World War I, when he worked as a surgeon with the French forces. He received the appreciation of the French, British, and American governments. Dr. Carrel was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1912 for his medical research. After retiring from work in 1939, he continued his research on the "mechanical heart," which was said to be able to deliver life to the body''s organs, which were separated from the real heart for an unlimited period. The book "The Unknown Man" is considered Alexis Carrel''s most famous book. The book was received with great enthusiasm when it was first published, and therefore it was printed several times, because it contains its author''s many experiences about man and life from a purely scientific point of view.

Our idea of ​​man differs according to our feelings and beliefs. The material person and the spiritual person accept the same definition that is given to a crystal of chloride, but they do not agree with each other in defining a living being. The physiologist who researches the body''s mechanical processes, and the physiologist who researches the doctrine of life itself, cannot look at the human body from one angle. The human race has made a tremendous effort to know itself, but although we have a treasure trove of observations accumulated by scientists, philosophers, poets, and great spiritual scholars of all times, we have been able to understand only certain aspects of ourselves. We do not understand the human being as a whole. We know him. However, it is made up of different parts, and even these parts were created by our means. Each one of us is made up of a procession of ghosts, in the middle of which an unknown truth marches.In fact, our ignorance is complete. Most of the questions that those who study the human race ask themselves remain unanswered: What is the nature of our psychological and physiological makeup? What is the relationship between feeling and the brain that is still a mystery? To what extent does will affect the body? How is the mind affected by the state of the organs?