Zwier Karen R
Drake University, Medbury Hall 206, 2507 University Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50311, USA.
J Hist Biol. 2018 Jun;51(2):355-386. doi: 10.1007/s10739-017-9494-7.
Aristotle's theory of spontaneous generation offers many puzzles to those who wish to understand his theory both within the context of his biology and within the context of his more general philosophy of nature. In this paper, I approach the difficult and vague elements of Aristotle's account of spontaneous generation not as weaknesses, but as opportunities for an interesting glimpse into the thought of an early scientist struggling to reconcile evidence and theory. The paper has two goals: (1) to give as charitable and full an account as possible of what Aristotle's theory of spontaneous generation was, and to examine some of its consequences; and (2) to reflect on Aristotle as a scientist, and what his comments reveal about how he approached a difficult problem. In particular, I propose that the well-recognized problem of the incompatibility between Aristotle's concept of spontaneity and his theory of spontaneous generation presents an opportunity for insight into his scientific methodology when approaching ill-understood phenomena.
亚里士多德的自然发生理论给那些既想在其生物学背景下，又想在其更一般的自然哲学背景下理解该理论的人带来了许多难题。在本文中，我并不将亚里士多德关于自然发生的论述中那些困难和模糊的部分视为弱点，而是将其视为一个契机，得以有趣地一窥一位早期科学家在努力调和证据与理论时的思想。本文有两个目标：（1）尽可能以宽厚且全面的方式阐述亚里士多德的自然发生理论是什么，并审视其一些后果；（2）思考亚里士多德作为一名科学家，以及他的评论揭示了他在面对难题时是如何处理的。特别是，我认为亚里士多德的自发性概念与其自然发生理论之间公认的不相容问题，为洞察他在面对理解不深的现象时的科学方法论提供了一个契机。
