witchcraft, alchemy . Everything was rough: they were not aware of the causes of illnessed and, consequently, the remedies were empirical (explain how: what is empirical? = based on experience, hope that what worked once works again), based on herbal teas, potions and infusions of
sorts. Precautions based on hygienic practices did not exist as they were not yet understood, and sometimes what they believed was the cure,
caused severe infections due to the ingredients they used in the potions - which amongst other things also included human bones
and scorpions. There were no 'real' medicines as we understand them today. The art of medicine was largely in the hands of the
Benedictine monks who provided only practical remedies that aimed at relieving the symptom and not actually cure the cause
of the disease.
Human kind was not aware of the existence of germs and bacteria, and ignored the possibility of
infection. It was believed that diseases were ruled by supernatural Causes and could not be avoided.
Even in the book “Promessi Sposi", written by Alessandro Manzoni, we find that Manzoni talks about the contagion of the plague and we can see how the characters have no idea on how to avoid the spread of the disease, which was then seen as a divine punishment.
Some, however, thought that infectious diseases were due to an alteration of the normal state of the atmosphere, as a result of the presence of elements or fumes that were spread in the environment, and “absorbed” by humans.
To guard against the spread of diseases, infected individuals were isolated from the community, and the entrance to cities was closely monitored. The first quarantine in history was instituted in Marseille, 1383.
In the pre-scientific ignorance, mingled with superstition, developed the most varied and imaginative theories (curses ...), and there was a paradigm that prevailed on the others until it the established paradigm of spontaneous generation prevailed . Under this established paradigm, life arose spontaneously. This theory was imposed because it was supported by a religious vision that was adopted as a way to prove that everything in the world is made by God. According to this theory God created men as superior beings and animals and insects arose spontaneously from the mud and from rotting carcasses.
Many tried to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation; among them Francesco Redi, who put three pieces of meat in three jars, one left open, one closed and the last one heavily covered with a fine gauze. The larvae appeared only in the open container, where the flies had been able to lay their eggs. They represent the first phenomenon that led people to questione the spontaneous
generation theory.
Gradually the paradigm of spontaneous generation was phased out. The discovery of the microscope gave scientists new vitality allowed them to observe that by leaving organic matter to decompose in a warm environment, strange critters magically appeared.
It was thanks to Louis Pasteur that the scientific community made a real step forward, through a simple experiment capable of disproving the theory of spontaneous germination. He used containers of the shape of a goosneck for experiments which permitted the access of oxygen - an essential element for the development of life - and, to ensure that the liquid inside came in contact with
contaminants, he boiled the content thereby killing all forms of life within the container, showing that the organisms reappeared only when the container neck was broken, allowing contaminants to enter.
Based on the findings of Spallanzani and Bassi, italian scientists, we came to the conclusion that bacteria were the germs responsible for diseases. Koch, the Nobel Prize for medicine supported the same thesis .
Pasteur then started a revolution, prooving that germs cause disease, and profoundly altering the way we live and relate to people around us. The knowledge that there are tiny "critters" that lurk everywhere, even if we cannot see them, has led to better hygiene attitudes. This was definitely a good thing. The negative influence of such discovery is the isolation of people in the fear of the possibility of contagion; even a simple flu can be a reason for placing an individual in quarantine. Everythingis antiseptic, sterilized, sanitized .... and certainly our bodies, so little accustomed to germs and bacteria, have become weaker, free of strong defenses that develop the disease. It is known that new viruses are always born as time goes on (e.g. AIDS) and this is probably because bacteria have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
I believe that the revolution of Science belief is a naural event which will keep to occur; as technology and human research gets more and more advanced, new scientific revolutions will take place as we find something we had never known before.
