Obituary: Leon Eisenberg

Abstract

[...] rapid advances in biological research over the next few decades, spurred by the development of molecular biology techniques, concerned Eisenberg, who cautioned psychiatrists against adhering to a "reductionistic model of mental disorder" and the danger of trading "the onesidedness of the 'brainless' psychiatry of the past for that of 'mindless' psychiatry of the future". Soon after his arrival there, he helped structure the school's affirmative action policies and, in 1980, was instrumental in creating Harvard's social medicine department and served as its founding chair.