Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was a scientist and was best known for his contributions to microbiology; he received the title of "the Father of Microbiology” and dedicated many years of his life to improve the microscope in order to attain incredible heights of precision of the microscopic lenses. He produced magnifications from up to 275X, with a resolving power of up to 1.4 µm. Moreover, he presented his findings from the material of animals and vegetables in extraordinary detail as well as being the first to observe a glimpse of bacteria that he found in water; the first illustration of the bacteria is demonstrated in a representation by Leeuwenhoek in the 1683 “Philosophical Transactions” publication. In this publication, Leeuwenhoek wrote to the Royal Society about his observations of the inside of an old man’s mouth. He found "an unbelievably great company of living animalcules [Latin for ‘little animals’], a-swimming more nimbly than any I had ever seen up to this time. The biggest sort... bent their body into curves in going forwards. . . Moreover, the other animalcules were in such enormous numbers, that all the water... seemed to be alive." These were among the first observations on living bacteria ever recorded.
In this essay, I will be explaining the unexpected signs of life that Leeuwenhoek found in a single droplet of rainwater which he described as ‘little animals’. He had witnessed bacteria and protozoa, laying the foundations for the sciences of bacteriology and protozoology. Leeuwenhoek also found ‘little animals’ in other bodies of water, including lakes, and on the surface of pepper and teeth. Additionally, with regards to the essay, I will also begin to identify the new and useful information established in Leeuwen...
... middle of paper ...
...e wrote in October 9, 1676: "Observations concerning various little Animals, in great numbers discover'd by Mr. Leeuwenhoek in Rain- Well- Sea- and Snow-water; as also in water wherein Pepper had lain infused."
Leeuwenhoek was persistent on working and writing his observations until even moments before approaching the time of his death. After he died on August 30, 1723, a letter was written to the Royal society by the pastor of the New Church at Delft who stated that:
“... Antony van Leeuwenhoek considered that what is true in natural philosophy can be most fruitfully investigated by the experimental method, supported by the evidence of the senses; for which reason, by diligence and tireless labour he made with his own hand certain most excellent lenses, with the aid of which he discovered many secrets of Nature, now famous throughout the whole philosophical World.”
__________. The New Science of Giambattista Vico. Trs. Thomas Goddard Bergin and Max Harold Fisch. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1948.
Dr. Joseph Henry Wythe (1822-1901) was born in Manchester, England on March 19, 1822, the son of Joseph Wythe and Mary Chamberlain. In 1832, JH Wythe accompanied his parents to America, and began his education in the private schools of Philadelphia where the family had settled. Through his own efforts and supplemented by private instruction, he became proficient in the natural sciences and the languages of Greek, Hebrew and Latin. In 1842, JH Wythe became an ordained Methodist minister at the early age of nineteen. Two years later, in 1844, he received the honorary degree of Master in Arts (M. A.) from Dickinson College Seminary, Carlisle Pennsylvania. .22 Two years later, in 1850, JH Wythe graduated with a medical degree (M. D.) from the Philadelphia College of Medicine and Surgery. In 1851, Dr. JH Wythe published the first edition of his book The Microscopist, or a Complete Manual on the Use of the Microscope, one of the earliest American texts on the subject.
7. John Wisdom, Paradox and Discovery (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 1969), p. ix.
Wolf, A. A History of Science, Technology and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Vol. 2. New York: Harper, 1959.
Bragg, Melvyn, On Giants' Shoulders: Great Scientists and Their Discoveries from Archimedes to DNA. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
I think that according to Galileo an individual gains knowledge of nature threw observation. Galileo believed no one really went out into the world as he did and used the senses that God gave us when we where created, to observe the physical world. He was a very persistent individual and was always looking further into what he observed our read. Many people went along with how he gained knowledge of nature but the few who did not tried to find other ways to damage his beliefs and ideas.
those that correlate to the flesh-eating bacteria now known as streptococcus pyogenes. Due to Hippocrates’ acts as a pioneer in the medical field, these chronicles are the first recordings we have of the existence of the bacteria.
Apfeldorf’s article “Uncovering a Tiny World” discusses Hooke’s book which is known for its microscopic illustrations of insects and microbes that Hooke had drawn as he viewed them under the microscope. His elaborate drawings of tiny objects and insects were the scientific evidence that supported his claims of the significant value of the microscope to science and the many ways it could be used. The book also contained a description of how to make a powerful microscope with a spherical lens, much like Leeuwenhoek’s glass pearls. Leeuwenhoek traveled to England that same year and is believed to have obtained a copy of Hooke’s book and
1650, some European thinkers began to analyze nature in order to determine the laws governing the universe. They employed experimentation and abstract reasoning to discover general principles behind phenomena such as the motions of planets and stars, the behavior of falling objects, and the characteristics of light and sound. Above, all Enlightenment philosophers emphasized acquiring knowledge through reason, taking particular delight challenging previously unquestioned assumptions. John Lockes Essay
The Primordial Soup Hypothesis was proposed by biochemist Alexander Oparin in 1924. He claimed that life started in a warm body of water due to a combination of chemicals which led to form amino acids then to form proteins. The evidence that he used was that organic compounds may have endured a sequence of reactions that created more and more complex molecules. An experiment conducted to test this theory was the Miller-Urey Experiment done by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey.
How do we know what we know? Ideas reside in the minds of intelligent beings, but a clear perception of where these ideas come from is often the point of debate. It is with this in mind that René Descartes set forth on the daunting task to determine where clear and distinct ideas come from. A particular passage written in Meditations on First Philosophy known as the wax passage shall be examined. Descartes' thought process shall be followed, and the central point of his argument discussed.
Wells, Jonathan. “Elusive Icons of Evolution.” Natural History April 2004: EBSCOhost. Seaside High School Lib., Seaside, OR 14 Oct. 2004
- - - . "As I Ebb'd with the Ocean of Life." Bradley and Blodgett 253-256.
Lamarck died in Paris on December 28th 1829. He was 85 years, 4 months and 27 days old when he died of poverty and obscurity.
This essay will show that ethical considerations do limit the production of knowledge in both art and natural sciences and that such kind of limitations are present to a higher extent in the natural sciences.