Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

 

John Turberville Needham (1713-1781) and eighteenth century theories of generation Public Deposited

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  • There were two viable theories of generation, preformation and epigenesis, existing in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Due to their irreconcilable nature, they were often at loggerheads during this time interval. The status of these generation theories can be effectively understood in terms of Thomas Kuhn's conception of preparadigm science. At this stage in the emergence of a theory, before the establishment of a paradigmatic theory, competing theories are articulated in an attempt to achieve the paradigm stature by gaining the approval of the scientific community. John Turberville Needham was an Eighteenth- Century scientist practicing science during this time of theory conflict. As a result, he joined the ranks of other natural philosophers (Maupertuis, Haller, Buffon and Bonnet) who experimented on generation and speculated upon the results of these studies. Needham's science shared many characteristics with the other Investigators and he was also very well-known, respected and influential. Therefore, his ad hoc explanations for generation should not be considered as the product of an anomalous figure in the history of science; a much more accurate appraisal of him is provided by regarding Needham as a pre-paradigm scientist, His theory of generation was formulated in response to the pre-paradigm crisis along with several other theories offered by other naturalists.
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