Boris Sidis

Boris Sidis (/ˈsaɪdɪs/; October 12, 1867 – October 24, 1923) was a Ukrainian-American 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 child prodigy William James Sidis. Boris Sidis eventually opposed mainstream psychology and Sigmund Freud, and thereby died ostracized. He was married to a maternal aunt of Clifton Fadiman, the American intellectual.

Boris Sidis
Born(1867-10-12)October 12, 1867
Berdychiv, Russian Empire
DiedOctober 24, 1923(1923-10-24) (aged 56)
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.
Spouse(s)Sarah Mandelbaum

Life and work

Born in the Russian Empire to Jewish parents, 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 principles of evolutionary biology 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 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, though this claim has been contested). 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.

Partial bibliography

See also

Notes
  1. Wallace, Amy (1986). The prodigy: a biography of William James Sidis, America's greatest child prodigy. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. ISBN 0-525-24404-2.
  2. Foundations of Normal and Abnormal psychology at www.sidis.net
  • ^ Sidis' birthplace is commonly listed as Kiev. However, a biographical note from his daughter sidis.net says he was born in "Berditchev," a small town about 150 km SW of Kiev.
  • ^ His writings are available at sidis.net

References
  • Wallace, Amy, The prodigy: A biography of William James Sidis, America's greatest child prodigy, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. 1986. ISBN 0-525-24404-2
  • "Boris Sidis." Dictionary of American biography base set. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005. galenet.galegroup.com
  • See External Links for source of much of the details of Sidis's life from unpublished archive documents by his wife and daughter.
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