Re: Homophobia-- human universal?
Bryant (mycol1@unm.edu)
26 Aug 1996 14:22:35 -0600
In article <4vsk5r$pnu@bubbla.uri.edu>, Susan <rgq101@uriacc.uri.edu> wrote:
>mycol1@unm.edu (Bryant) wrote:
>
>>Hm. But, does anything ever actually get *resolved* in cultural anthro? :)
>
>Ah, does anything ever really get resolved??
Sure. I'll drag out the old example of "vitalism" and spontaneous
generation of life.
Folks not that long ago used to think that you could "make" worms from mud
and mice from grain, maggots from old meat and amphibians from pond water.
Careful hypothesis-testing experiments proved that in fact, life comes from
life, not mud or pond water. Earlier observers hadn't noticed the flies
laying eggs on the meat or seen the mice sneak into the graineries.
Likewise, it was long believed that the chemistry of living things was
fundamentally distinct from the rules governing the chemistry of
inorganic things. This was proven wrong in the 1800s when a fellow
synthesized urea.
I think the issues of spontaneous generation and vitalism have been
resolved. Don't you? :)
Bryant
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