spontaneous generation
noun
: a now discredited notion that living organisms spontaneously originate directly from nonliving matter
A difficulty that we have forgotten lay in the widespread belief in spontaneous generation. Aristotle had written that flies, worms, and other small animals originated spontaneously from putrefying matter.—
Daniel J. Boorstin
Daniel J. BoorstinExamples of spontaneous generation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Pasteur coolly replied that Pouchet’s spontaneous generation experiments were fatally flawed.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
Eventually, spontaneous generation theories died.
—Christina Couch, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
In the 6th century BCE, Greek philosophers proposed that life arose from nonliving matter – and that was the prevailing view until thousands of years later when Louis Pasteur conclusively disproved the theory of spontaneous generation in 1859 with his famous swan-neck flask experiment.
—Sian Beilock, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022
Exploring a number of case studies—including the controversies over continental drift, spontaneous generation, and the theory of relativity—Strevens shows scientists exerting themselves intellectually in a variety of ways, as smart, ambitious people usually do.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2020
His descriptions and enumeration of microbes seemed to support the idea of spontaneous generation of life (in pepper infusions no less!), the idea that organisms could be formed from dead or nonbiological sources without any obvious parental lineage.
—Paul Falkowski, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2015
Others were the product of imperfect observation, such as Lamarck’s theory that acquired characteristics could be inherited or the theory of spontaneous generation.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2020
In fact, cells that generate their own cilia without centrioles or deuterosomes already have a name: de novo, basically meaning spontaneous generation.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 30 Dec. 2019
By the late 19th century, writes Encyclopedia Britannica, scientists had ceased to believe that, for instance, cheese could spontaneously generate mice, but spontaneous generation at the microbial level was still accepted.
—Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 13 June 2017
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Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025
Eventually, spontaneous generation theories died.
—Christina Couch, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Sep. 2022
In the 6th century BCE, Greek philosophers proposed that life arose from nonliving matter – and that was the prevailing view until thousands of years later when Louis Pasteur conclusively disproved the theory of spontaneous generation in 1859 with his famous swan-neck flask experiment.
—Sian Beilock, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022
Exploring a number of case studies—including the controversies over continental drift, spontaneous generation, and the theory of relativity—Strevens shows scientists exerting themselves intellectually in a variety of ways, as smart, ambitious people usually do.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2020
His descriptions and enumeration of microbes seemed to support the idea of spontaneous generation of life (in pepper infusions no less!), the idea that organisms could be formed from dead or nonbiological sources without any obvious parental lineage.
—Paul Falkowski, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2015
Others were the product of imperfect observation, such as Lamarck’s theory that acquired characteristics could be inherited or the theory of spontaneous generation.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2020
In fact, cells that generate their own cilia without centrioles or deuterosomes already have a name: de novo, basically meaning spontaneous generation.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 30 Dec. 2019
By the late 19th century, writes Encyclopedia Britannica, scientists had ceased to believe that, for instance, cheese could spontaneously generate mice, but spontaneous generation at the microbial level was still accepted.
—Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 13 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Spontaneous generation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spontaneous%20generation. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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