Parazytologiczne kryptohistorie : tropikalne przesądy i uprzedzenia

Abstract

It seems that misconceptions and prejudices have always been present in the history of science and medicine. The same is perhaps true of an uninvited companion of humanity, the parasite. As times changed and human knowledge progressed, such fallacies were expected to fade away, replaced by opinions based on facts and scientific observation. For some reason, however, the science of parasitology did not experience such a change. On the contrary, in a transition which took place at the end of the nineteenth century, the fearful figure of the parasite was transposed from the religious to the medical realm, where it lost its associations with divine punishment but was equalled with a symptom of a disease instead, perpetuating the notions of parasites as enigmatic and fearful enemies of humankind. As a result, the belief that due to their improper behaviour human beings can be blamed for harbouring parasites, remained intact. This is particularly true in the case of tropical medicine which in the late nineteenth century focused particularly on the savage way of life of the native populations of tropical and subtropical regions and its apparent disease‑related consequences. This article focuses on a number of inaccurate nineteenth century theories of parasite infections which, through rhetorical manipulation, created an illusive cause‑and‑ effect relationship between particular ideologically charged practices and the parasitic infection.