In this essay I want to give another historical example about the theological background of Darwin's theory of evolution. It is hard to believe for the modern mind accustomed to Darwin's theory that naturalists and even physicians primarily looked upon nature as being imprinted by God's wisdom. Whereas one can easily understand this mind set in the case of physics as far as it explores the beauty of the cosmos, it is much more astonishing that this kind of looking through theological glasses unto nature was even common in medicine in general and anatomy in particular.

I want to give a historically compelling example for this way to pursue natural science as a theological enterprise by the life and work of the German physician and surgeon Lorenz Heister (1683-1758). Heister had an interesting, fascinating and even adventurous life. Born as the son of an innkeeper in Frankfurt in 1683 he managed to study medicine, mathematics, mechanics and optics at the Universities of Giessen (Germany) and Leyden (Netherlands).  Thus he became an exceptional polymath. Interestingly he was in this regard not a couch potato but was involved in all kinds of dangerous activities and had an unconventional lifestyle. He served as a surgeon on the battlefields of the War of the Spanish Succession before in 1710 he eventually became Professor for medicine at the then famous German university in Altdorf near Nuremberg. Before he started his academic career he visited the universities of Oxford and Cambridge and became acquainted there with Sir Isaac Newton.

In 1719 he was offered the chair for medicine and botany at the University of Helmstedt where he created a botanic garden which was regarded as one of the most beautiful ones in Germany. His interest in botany resulted in a scientific exchange with Carl von Linné from which several letters have been preserved. Linné regarded Heister as an outstanding scientist and made sure that a certain species of plants were named in his honor, still known today as Heisteria. Heister remained Professor at Helmstedt although he received a number of invitations from other renowned European Universities, including an offer from Czar Peter the Great to become professor in St. Petersburg. He died in 1758 while he was on his way to give medical treatment for a patient some miles away from his home.

Heister wrote two scientific books - among other scientific accomplishments - which made him famous and influential in the academic education of physicians. In 1717 he wrote his book on anatomy - in Latin, as usual then in academia. The title was "Compendium Anatomicum". This book became a standard manual for physicians for many decades, not only in Germany but also across Europe. In 1752 it was translated into English. "A compendium of anatomy translated from the Latin".  However the "Compendium Anatomicum" was even surpassed by his subsequent book on surgery in 1719. It was groundbreaking in the history of medicine because it made surgery a scientific academic undertaking. In addition it was written in German and thus no longer confined to the circles of the learned. Many editions followed, the last one 1779 sixty years after the first edition. The high esteem which it earned can be seen in the fact that it was translated into many languages, including Japanese.

Now what is interesting in his scientific work with regard to theology? What can anatomy contribute to the understanding of God? In fact the then prevailing current of natural theology - in German tongue called "Physicotheologie" - provided an intellectual framework in which anatomy was understood as a science which could help to open one's eyes to the wisdom and subsequently to the adoration of the creator. And this was the way in which Heister understood his medical work as an anatomist. In this sense he wrote in the first chapter of his "Compendium Anatomicum":

"8. Finis anatomes multiplex est: Primarius tame nest operum mirabilium Supremi Numinis in corpora humano cognition & admiration : cum artificiosissimae fabricate contemplation, partium admiranda figura, connexio, communication, action & usus, Creatoris non solum existentiam, sed & immensam & stupendam sapientiam manifeststissime, contra Atheos, demonstrent, & ad cultum ac venerationem eius invitent; ideoque finis primaries Anatomiae Gloria Dei esto. Atque hoc sensu Anatomia Philosophica, auf physica, imo Theologica vocari potest, omnibus verae sapientiae ac Theologiae cultoribus utilissima."

The English translation from 1752 reads as follows:

"The intend and ends of anatomy are various : the primary one is an acquaintance with, and an admiration of, the work of the Creator in the human frame : a serious contemplation of the structure of this amazing fabric, of the appropriated figure of the several parts of it, their connections, communications, actions and uses, is one of the strongest of all arguments against atheism : it carries a proof not only of the existence of a Deity, but at the same time of his amazing greatness and wisdom; and leads the observer immediately to the adoration, as well as the acknowledgement, of a God. The glory of the Creator may, therefore, be very justly declared to be the great and primary end of anatomy. The science, treated in this light, may therefore be called philosophical, physical, or theological anatomy, and is highly useful to everyone who studies true wisdom and theology."

Interestingly the English translation came out five years after the materialistic alternative to interpret the fabric of the human body was published by La Mettrie and his famous and then scandalous book "L'homme machine" in 1747. This book made La Mettrie an outcast of the scientific community but a highly admired philosophical entertainer at the enlightened court of Frederic II, King of Prussia.

Thus in the middle of the 18th century we have two competing perspectives to look on the human body, the emerging materialistic one of La Mettrie and the prevailing of natural theology. Which one will be the paradigm of medical science in the years to come?

Wolfgang Achtner, Transscientia Institute, Giessen Germany

Next essay will be about Nils Stensen, bishop, geologist, physician