Why did Hippolyte Taine study physiological and pathological cases in psychology?

Hippolyte Taine studied physiological and pathological cases as part of his commitment to positivism and his effort to apply the scientific method to the study of human personality.

In his major work, De l’intelligence (On Intelligence), Taine sought to move beyond the speculative and introspective approaches of contemporary philosophy. By emphasizing the physiological basis of personality and examining pathological cases, he aimed to establish a scientific methodology for psychology that focused on empirical observation and the search for causal factors. This approach was intended to reveal the underlying determinants of human behavior, ultimately contributing to a more objective, scientific understanding of human nature.1