Medical Beliefs of the Time
Prior to Spallanzani’s time, the Church was in full control of what was perceived. The Grand Inquisition used to target scientists, as they threatened the church. Most people believed that God was responsible for the creation of all beings and scientific discovery that suggested otherwise was considered to be blasphemy. People were sometime banned from even reading scientific texts; one of these texts being the French Encyclopedia which contained advance science and philosophy.
During Spallanzani’s time, there was a specific focus on the study of microbes and the generation of the beings, as the use of the microscope was still new. These microbes were often referred to as “little animals” as they behaved as such. Many believed that the small creatures generated themselves spontaneously. To generate spontaneously means that living organisms were formed without derivation from a similar organism. There had been many experiments performed with meat and maggots, and from these experiments people concluded that maggots appeared in the decaying meet with no origin. This triggered the theory of spontaneous generation.
This theory of spontaneous generation was not just accepted by common people, but scientists as well. Famed English naturalist, Ross, once said, “To question that beetles and wasps were generated in cow dung is to question reason, sense and experience.” However there were a few that disagreed with the theory, such as Francesco Redi. The Italian scientist, was the first to discredit the theory when he proved that the maggots seen in rotting meat were derived from eggs of the flies. Spallanzani’s natural curiosity lead him to question the theories that were commonly accepted at the time.
During Spallanzani’s time, there was a specific focus on the study of microbes and the generation of the beings, as the use of the microscope was still new. These microbes were often referred to as “little animals” as they behaved as such. Many believed that the small creatures generated themselves spontaneously. To generate spontaneously means that living organisms were formed without derivation from a similar organism. There had been many experiments performed with meat and maggots, and from these experiments people concluded that maggots appeared in the decaying meet with no origin. This triggered the theory of spontaneous generation.
This theory of spontaneous generation was not just accepted by common people, but scientists as well. Famed English naturalist, Ross, once said, “To question that beetles and wasps were generated in cow dung is to question reason, sense and experience.” However there were a few that disagreed with the theory, such as Francesco Redi. The Italian scientist, was the first to discredit the theory when he proved that the maggots seen in rotting meat were derived from eggs of the flies. Spallanzani’s natural curiosity lead him to question the theories that were commonly accepted at the time.