Who was William Benjamin Carpenter?
Q: Who was William Benjamin Carpenter?
A: William Benjamin Carpenter was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London.
Q: What did he inherit from his father?
A: From his father, Carpenter inherited a belief in the essential lawfulness of the creation; this meant that natural causes were the explanation of the world as we find it.
Q: What type of research did he do?
A: Although qualified medically, he was best known for his work on marine zoology, notably the lower organisms such as Foraminifera and crinoids. These researches gave an impetus to deep-sea exploration, such as the 1868 oceanographic survey with HMS Lightning and later the more famous Challenger Expedition.
Q: What did he observe about human perception?
A: He observed that the human perceptual system almost completely operates outside of conscious awareness. These same observations were also made by Hermann Helmholtz.
Q: What else did he notice about unconscious thought processes?
A: He noticed that unconscious prejudices can be stronger than conscious thought and that they are more dangerous since they happen outside of conscious awareness. He also noticed that emotional reactions can occur outside of conscious until attention is drawn to them.
Q: What is William Benjamin Carpenter known for in popular culture?
A: In popular culture, he is perhaps better known for his work against alcoholism, for which he won a prize of 100 guineas; it was one of the first temperance books written at that time.
Q: What other accomplishments does William have?
A: In 1856 Carpenter became Registrar of the University of London, and held office for twenty-three years; during this time he was made a Companion of Order Bath
