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Article ID: CBB097669359

Sperm-Force: Naturphilosophie and George Newport’s Quest to Discover the Secret of Fertilization (2022)

Coggon, Jennifer (Author)

Journal of the History of Biology
Volume: 55
Issue: 4
Pages: 615-687

URI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-022-09696-3

DOI: 10.1007/s10739-022-09696-3

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Science and gender Natural theology Embryology Entomology Fertilization Amphibians Eggs Spermatozoa 19th century Great Britain Newport, George Royal Society of London

This paper analyses the forgotten concept of “sperm-force” proposed by George Newport (1803–1854). Newport is known for his comprehensive microscopic examinations of sperm and egg interaction in amphibian fertilization between 1850 and 1854. My work with archival sources reveals that Newport believed fertilization was caused by sperm-force, which the Royal Society refused to publish. My reconstruction chronologically traces the philosophical and experimental origins of sperm-force to Newport’s 1830s entomological work. Sperm-force is a remnant of Newport’s speculations on the creation of the active individual. I argue that sperm-force was rooted in British interpretations of German Naturphilosophie, which demonstrates Continental influences on mid-Victorian embryology, particularly the role of male generative power. This context provides further evidence that British versions of Romantic science fostered sophisticated experimental work. The refusal by Paleyite stalwarts of natural theology to publish Newport’s ideas illustrates the institutional resistance to German pantheistic and vitalistic influences. This reconstruction of sperm-force’s philosophical foundation and its reception offers new understandings of mid-Victorian attitudes toward the inheritance of mind and body. It situates Newport’s work within the nineteenth century’s scientific project to assign stereotypical genders to the gametes.

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