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Burton's model of human cognition is a mix of philosophizing about the qualitative nature of consciousness and attempts to identify the physiological mechanisms responsible for carrying out the various cognitive processes of which humans are capable.
According to Burton, "Spirit is a most subtle vapour, which is expressed from the blood [but is not actually blood itself, which is a Humour] and the instrument of the soul, to perform all his actions; a common tie or medium betwixt the body and the soul" (129).
Burton's explanations of exactly how the soul springs from material body are ultimately unconvincing in two important ways (other than his obvious biological and medical inaccuracies.) First, in the face of the detailed descriptions which he provides of other bodily and cognitive function, his sparse descriptions of the soul are rhetorically unconvincing.
RobertBurton (February 8, 1577 - January 25, 1640) was an English scholar at Oxford University (Brasenose College), whose chief claim to fame is for writing The Anatomy of Melancholy.
Burton was a mathematician and dabbled in astrology.
Burton's burial in Christ Catherdral Church, Oxford, is evidence that rumors of his suicide by hanging were most likely unfounded.
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