attitudes towards corpses and scientific experiments on humans
Attitudes towards Corpses and the Scientific Experiments on Humans
Aristotle vs. the Scientific Revolution
(background knowledge)
During the late 18th and early 19th century the scientists at the time followed the heavily influential Aristotelian view on science and its experimentation process. Aristotle pursued his passion of natural philosophy and believed that nature should be observed and not experimented on, but around the time of Mary Shelley, scientists began to see the benefit of experimentation for better knowledge of human nature (1).
Aristotle believed that in order to understand the things going on around us, we must not intervene. By intervening one would not get the true result from what it was they were experimenting because of the Human agent now added to the process (3). He also believed that one is not just born and then alive, carrying the notion that being alive took place over a period of time so different developments and changes could take place (7).
The coming of the new age of science brought a lot of changes to the beliefs that were held by society based on the Aristotelian view on science. One of the big revelations that came with the Scientific Revolution was the replacement of the "natural philosophy" with materialism and experimentation. Aristotle believed that there was some special essence if you will, that was what made a being alive, specifically a human being (7). Historians cannot point out the specific date of this revolution, but they can agree that it was between the time of Copernicus and Newton. Issac Newton had many theories that ratified the world of science. One of his theories was that the world was made up of small material objects, i.e atoms and molecules; which disproved Aristotle's Four Qualities of Earth, Fire, Wind and Water (4). With the new age of exploring how life worked, what made someone alive and how they continued to stay alive, there emerged the viewpoint of materialist over vitalists, which was what Aristotle's life essence theory could be categorized into. The Materialists held strong beliefs in the roles of matter in relation to the idea of being alive over the previous belief of having some extra element that makes one alive (7).
The attaining of cadavers. Ethical? definitely not..
Body snatching was not as uncommon of a practice as it is by today's standards. Back when scientists began to explore and perform experiments on the human body there became a surge of need for bodies. During the medieval ages, the only knowledge of the make up of beings was from diagrams of animals like pigs and the spare criminal every once in a while (5). It wasn't until the 17th century that new texts were distributed widely and new acts/laws were put in place to aid in the process of dissections.
It was during this time that judges could recommend sentenced criminals to have their bodies upon death and dissected for scientific purposes (5). Even with the using of criminals' bodies for dissection, there was more demand than supply can keep up with. It wasn't until 1832 that the Anatomy Act in England was passed that would allow the medical students and scientists access to more bodies, which still would not end up being enough to keep up with demand (2). This 1832 act allowed for unclaimed bodies of poor people to be given to academic schools (2). Since the graves of the poor, or as referred to in the one article, paupers, were so shallowly dug it was very easy to dig them out and steal the bodies of those in the social and economic station.
How Mary reflected the scientific nuances into Frankenstein
While Victor's scientific views weren't clearly defined for the reader, with the evidence provided from his experiments and goal of creating life, we can tell that he was of, or at the least, heavily influenced by the experimentalist mindset on science during the time of the novel. What Frankenstein did to obtain the parts for his creation was also not such an uncommon thing for scientists to do, as stated in the previous heading. During this time the experimentation and observation of the human body was no longer seen as disrespectful, especially since the majority of the bodies being studied were of lower class people. With the radical shift of scientific views and discoveries, it led to a growth of curiosity for how the human body works. So, Frankenstein might be a fictional character but his views towards science and the use of human bodies/parts for experimentations certainly was a reality for Mary Shelley's time.
Bodnar, Istvan. “Aristotle's Natural Philosophy.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 8 Jan. 2018, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-natphil/. (1)
“Body Snatching, You Say?” Dittrick Medical History Center, Case Western Reserve University, 26 Oct. 2017, https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/2014/10/03/body-snatching-you-say/. (2)
Byrne, Christopher. “Aristotle and Scientific Experiments: Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue Canadienne De Philosophie.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 4 Mar. 2022, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/dialogue-canadian-philosophical-review-revue-canadienne-de-philosophie/article/aristotle-and-scientific-experiments/C252447786765D542E592F9AEBC85DE0. (3)
Hatch , Robert. “The Scientific Revolution.” The Scientific Revolution - Definition - Concept - History, 2022, http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-sci-rev/sci-rev-teaching/03sr-definition-concept.htm. (4)
Mitchell, Piers D, et al. “The Study of Anatomy in England from 1700 to the Early 20th Century.” Journal of Anatomy, Blackwell Science Inc, Aug. 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3162231/. (5)
Sample, Ian. “18th Century Doctors Shared Bodies to Teach Dissections, Research Shows.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Feb. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/15/18th-century-doctors-cut-up-bodies-teach-dissections-research. (6)
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein. Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds. The MIT Press, 2017. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat05986a&AN=buc.9911096556503556&site=eds-live&scope=site. (7)
Spencer, J Brookes. “Scientific Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2019, https://www.britannica.com/science/Scientific-Revolution. (8)
Topical Press Agency/ Getty Images. “Medical Students Watching a Dissection.” 18th Century Doctors Shared Bodies to Teach Dissections, Research Shows. , 15 Feb. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/feb/15/18th-century-doctors-cut-up-bodies-teach-dissections-research. Accessed 4 Mar. 2022. (9)
“Dissection: Photographs of a Rite of Passage.” Body Snatching, You Say?, Case Western Reserve University, 26 Oct. 2017, https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/2014/10/03/body-snatching-you-say/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2022. (10)
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