Joseph Demarco (1718–1793) was a Maltese medical practitioner, a scientist, and a major philosopher. His areas of specialisation in philosophy were mostly philosophical psychology and physiology.
Demarco's extensive interests make him quite unique. Indeed, though his main concern was human health, this must be understood in the widest of meanings. He was fascinated by the mechanisms of the human body but also with its infirmities, especially within their psychological and social contexts. This brought him to be very much attracted to the philosophical underpinnings of the human condition in all of its aspects. Both his life and his writings are proof enough of this.
Life
Beginnings
Demarco was born on January 2, 1718, at Cospicua, Malta. This seaport and dry-dock hub was also a place where many different peoples congregated. More so since the then Grand Master of the Knights Hospitallers, António Manoel de Vilhena, had given free entry to the harbours to all nations.
Fortunate enough to be born within a well-off family, Demarco was given a good education (including a solid knowledge of Latin), probably at the Collegium Melitense of the Jesuits in Valletta, Malta. From an early age, his eyes were set on the medical profession, one highly regarded and very much encouraged by the Knights Hospitallers. Already as a young boy, his medical intellectual curiosity drew him to speculate about the effect of atmospheric conditions on the human body, as his writing from 1733 (De Aere), at only fifteen years of age, attests. Of course, he was also very much interested in understanding physical illnesses, as his writing from 1741 (De Tumoribus Humoralibus), on swellings caused by liquid retention, shows. In addition, he was from an early age piqued by instances of pathological madness, common to congested urban areas as his home-town, Cospicua, was, and made some particular observations about the phenomenon (especially that caused by rabies) around 1742 (Tractatus de Rabie).
However, during this formative time Demarco also entertained interests in other scientific areas. Still in his early twenties, around 1742 he engaged himself in speculations on standard trigonometry (Trattato della Trigonometria Piana) and elementary arithmetic (Vulgaris Arithmeticæ Elementaris Theoria), giving them also some philosophical depth. During the same period, he wrote short studies on hydrostatics in general (Breve Compendio dell’Idrostatica) and on hydrostatic sources and technology (Trattato de Fonti e Machine Adrostiche).
France interlude
At just 24 years of age, in 1742, Demarco went to France to pursue a medical degree. Naturally, this was made possible by his parents’ financial resources. He studied at the University of Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. In particular, he studied under the renowned physician and botanist, François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix. This is also attested by a document written by Demarco, Physiologie Cursus: Anatomico – meccanico – experimentalis (A Course in Physiology: Anatomical – mechanical – experimental; 1765) which originates from De Sauvages’ course on the subject.
Demarco's writings during this period bear out to his professional and proficient stance in medical matters. In particular, one may note his investigations dealing with chest (Tractatus De Morbis Pectoris) and abdominal ailments (De Morbis Abdominis). In all probability, it was this dexterity and expertise which convinced his lecturers to trust him, from amongst his peers, with a course on physics (as his Traité de Physique attests). This must have been highly prestigious for the young freshman.
Having completed his two-year course in medicine, Demarco defended his thesis in 1743. It was entitled Dissertatio Physiologica de Respiratione, ejusque Uso Primario (Physiological Aspects of Respiration and its Primary Significance). The work was published a year later, in 1744, at Montpellier.
Malta period
Demarco returned to Malta as Doctor of Medicine, but also with a keen eye on social affairs. It seems that his acquaintance with Illuminist philosophy while in France enhanced his sensitivity towards communal needs and societal acclimatisation. Nevertheless, throughout his long career he never directly involved himself in any political activity, not even when the French Revolution erupted on the European scene.