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Explain one way in which ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1700–c1850 were different from ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1900–present. - Edexcel - GCSE History - Question 3 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 3
Explain one way in which ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1700–c1850 were different from ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1900–present.
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Explain one way in which ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1700–c1850 were different from ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1900–present. - Edexcel - GCSE History - Question 3 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Explain one way in which ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1700–c1850 were different from ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1900–present.
Answer
In the years c1700–c1850, it was widely believed that illnesses were caused by spontaneous generation, which posited that diseases arose from decaying matter or miasmas. People thought that foul smells and bad air could lead to illness, a perspective rooted in the humoral theory of medicine.
However, by the years c1900–present, the understanding of illness shifted significantly due to advancements in medical science. The germ theory of disease, established by scientists like Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, highlighted that micro-organisms were the actual causes of many diseases. This marked a fundamental change in how society understood health and illness, leading to more effective methods of prevention and treatment.
Thus, the key difference lies in the transition from mystical and environmental explanations of illness in the earlier period to a scientific understanding based on biological pathogens in the later period.