Why was Domingos Guedes Cabral’s thesis rejected by the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia in 1875?

Abstract

In this paper, we offer an analysis of the reasons for the rejection of the thesis Funcções do cerebro (Functions of the brain) by the Faculty of Medicine of Bahia, in 1875. Written by Domingos Guedes Cabral, this was one of the first Darwinist works produced in Brazil, being published as a book in 1876. The investigation leads us to the conclusion that one cannot explain the rejection of Guedes Cabral’s thesis based on a single factor, either his evolutionary ideas, or his materialism. In a work engaged in so many struggles at the same time – against the monarquist state, Catholic religion, God, the Faculty of Medicine, Law –, it is hard to attribute a negative reaction to any single factor. This rejection can be even seen as a political act of the Faculty, resulting from the fear of associating the name of the institution with the controversial ideas of Cabral.