Boris Sidis
Pioneering Psychopathologist "Our asylums are driving people crazy."
Born	October 12, 1867(1867-10-12) Berdychiv, Ukraine, Russian Empire
Died	October 24, 1923 (aged 56) Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.

Boris Sidis, Ph.D., M.D. (October 12, 1867 - October 24, 1923) was a Russian Jewish psychologist, physician, psychiatrist, and philosopher of education. Sidis founded the New York State Psychopathic Institute and the Journal of Abnormal Psychology. He was the father of the child prodigy William James Sidis. Boris Sidis eventually opposed mainstream psychology and Sigmund Freud, and thereby died ostracized.

Contents 1 Life 2 Partial bibliography 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Life

Born in Ukraine,^[1] he emigrated to the U.S. in 1887 to escape political persecution. Due to the May Laws, he was imprisoned for at least two years, according to William James Sidis' biographer, Amy Wallace. He later credited his ability to think to this long solitary confinement.^[1] His wife, Sarah Mandelbaum Sidis, M.D., and her family fled the pogroms about 1889.

Boris completed four degrees at Harvard (a B.A., M.A., 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/hypnotic 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 Cure^[2] 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.

Sidis applied his own psychological approaches to raising 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 a ratio 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. Boris Sidis himself derided intelligence testing as "silly, pedantic, absurd, and grossly misleading."^[2]

With Boris' fulminations against mainstream psychology and Sigmund Freud, he died ostracized by the community he had helped create.

[edit] Partial bibliography

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Boris Sidis

• 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] See also

• Ira Van Gieson (1866-1913), a collaborator

[edit] Notes

• ^  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.
• ^  His writings are available at http://www.sidis.net/boris_sidis_archives.htm

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boris Sidis

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Boris Sidis

• "Boris Sidis Archives"
• "Nervous Ills Their Cause and Cure" - full text
• The works of Boris Sidis - full online texts