Book contents
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Rethinking Sex in Early Modern Germany: Negotiating Medical Authority
- 2 Predestined Conception: Seeds of Procreation and the Workings of the Womb
- 3 What about Mary? Contemplating Divine and Human Birth
- 4 Adam, Eve and the Human Body: Paracelsus's Nature Dilemma
- 5 Paracelsus's Theory of Embodiment in the Popular Press
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
2 - Predestined Conception: Seeds of Procreation and the Workings of the Womb
- Frontmatter
- CONTENTS
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Rethinking Sex in Early Modern Germany: Negotiating Medical Authority
- 2 Predestined Conception: Seeds of Procreation and the Workings of the Womb
- 3 What about Mary? Contemplating Divine and Human Birth
- 4 Adam, Eve and the Human Body: Paracelsus's Nature Dilemma
- 5 Paracelsus's Theory of Embodiment in the Popular Press
- Conclusion
- Appendix
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
Paracelsus needed to invent himself. He decided that the best way to secure his prominence in the medical profession was to prove that he understood human birth better than other physicians who were profiting from providing advice on conception to wealthy clients. First, he had to explain the process of conception and gestation to himself and this is what he does in his earliest works. He uses his writing to tease out his understanding of human reproductive material and reproductive organs. He does not subscribe to the description of human reproduction found in classical texts that relied on understanding men as warm and women as cold or men as agents and women as receptacles for men's seed. Instead Paracelsus made a name for himself by rejecting the teachings of Aristotle and other prominent forbearers. If educated physicians were to explain the male seed as containing all of life, he would deconstruct that idea. If educated physicians were to disregard the importance of the womb he would emphasize it. He loved contradiction. He also had a strong sense of spirituality. This curious combination of rebellion and spirituality led Paracelsus to reflect on the meaning of the physical body and the degree to which God is involved in human births. This chapter explains the intersection of Paracelsus's quest for self-definition, his contemplation of the function of seeds, and his early emphasis on understanding the workings of the womb. The tracts under consideration in this chapter are considered his earliest writings, though the precise date on some of them is unknown. However, Paracelsus's quest to define his place in the medical profession as an expert on conception in these writings reveals a consistency among these tracts which led me to group them together. Because Paracelsus uses his writing to think through his understanding of the body, it is necessary to explore the tracts one at a time in order to focus on the process of his discoveries.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Paracelsus's Theory of EmbodimentConception and Gestation in Early Modern Europe, pp. 21 - 42Publisher: Pickering & ChattoFirst published in: 2014