F. M. Alexander, the Use of the Self, and a 1932 Book Review + Discussion in the Yorkshire Post: A Failure to Impact Medical Science

Case Studies Journal ISSN (2305-509X) – Volume 4, Issue 10 – Oct-2015

18 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2019

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Date Written: October 1, 2015

Abstract

In 1931, Frederick Matthias Alexander, founding father of the Alexander Technique, who in 1894 began a career as a full-time stage artist and elocution and breathing teacher launched his book The Use of the Self explaining the history of his discovery of what he called a "primary control of the psycho-physical mechanisms" (Alexander, 1932c). This case study critically describes the chronicle of Alexander‘s claim, notably citing the full text of a yet unreferenced letter to the editor of the Yorkshire Post written by Alexander in reaction to a book review by the young journalist Charles Davy. The case study shows how Alexander and his followers developed a strategy of self-sought isolation.

Keywords: Edgar Douglas Adrian, F. Matthias Alexander, Charles Davy, John Dewey, Ellen Avery Margaret Goldie, Ernst Franz Jokl, David Alexander Cecil Low, Rudolf Magnus, Caleb Williams Saleeby, Irene Tasker, central control, conscious control, primary control

Suggested Citation

Staring, Jeroen, F. M. Alexander, the Use of the Self, and a 1932 Book Review + Discussion in the Yorkshire Post: A Failure to Impact Medical Science (October 1, 2015). Case Studies Journal ISSN (2305-509X) – Volume 4, Issue 10 – Oct-2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3402838 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3402838

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