Engineering and pathology

The discussion of genius has its roots in literature dating back to antiquity (Pseudo-Aristotle), according to which genius goes hand in hand with melancholy. This association is perpetuated in cultural history, manifesting itself from the 18th^century onwards in scientific discussions of various physiological conditions (Tissot, Lélut, Moreau de Tours) as well as in comments by more recent poets and critics (Jouve, Blanchot) for whom madness (such as Hölderlin's) is an integral part of genius. The question of gender also figures in this pathologization of a genius considered in terms of its physiological constitution, which is supposed to be generally masculine.