Submitted by: Narasimha Dasa
Biogenesis and the Birth of Modern Science
By Narasimha das
The ancient Greeks, specifically the renowned philosopher Aristotle (384 B.C – 322 B.C.), believed that living things were spontaneously generated from non-living matter. Aristotle was a naturalist who loved to observe animals and nature while taking long walks through the country. He noticed that ponds were full of various species, such as fish, frogs and tiny swimming insects. Later, in the summer months, many of these ponds would dry up and appear to become lifeless mud sinks or totally dry beds. But when the rains came, the same dry beds would fill up again with aquatic life. He wondered how all this life became regenerated. After pondering this puzzle for a long while, he finally concluded that earth itself had the power to generate life spontaneously with water and air under certain conditions. Observing the life cycles of insects on land, he came to similar conclusions: that rotting meat, animal fur and other non-living matter had the potency to generate various forms life under certain conditions. Continue reading
