The neurological disease of “Raimundín” in the life of Miguel de Unamuno

J. J. Zarranz
Neurosciences and History 2018; 6(2): 53-60

Type of article: ORIGINAL

AUTHOR

J. J. Zarranz
Emeritus Chair of the Department of Neurosciences. UPV-EHU, Instituto Biocruces, Baracaldo, Spain.

ABSTRACT

Miguel de Unamuno was a philosopher, professor, writer in various capacities (favouring poetry), rector of the University of Salamanca, and a committed politician; he was one of the most important and influential thinkers in Spain’ s history, and lived a life tormented by doubt in his faith in God and in the immortality of man. One contributing factor to this unease was the tragic neurological disease of his son Raimundo, who presented severe sequelae associated with chronic hydrocephalus secondary to a case of probable meningitis. The available information on the boy’ s illness comes from Unamuno himself: his diary, letters to friends, drawings he made of his son, and poems dedicated to him. His daily life with his disabled child, his impotence to improve the situation, and the absurdity of the disease, understood as God punishing or forsaking him for his own lack of faith, provoked one of Unamuno’ s most intense personal crises.

KEYWORDS

Hydrocephalus, Unamuno, meningitis, religious conflicts, intellectual disability

Neurosciences and History 2018; 6(2): 53-60