In various lectures late in his life, Cullen told his students that he was castigated for delivering doctrines that differed from Boerhaavian orthodoxy. In one instance, he says that because he happened to be a Professor of Chemistry, he “was called a Paracelsus a Van Helmont, a whimsical Innovator and much pains was taken in private to disparage my self and my doctrines.”
Are there any instances of this criticism of Cullen on record, either in letters or pamphlets? I’m aware of some pamphlets that questioned whether he should even be chosen as a Professor at Edinburgh in the first place (‘Dr. Puff’, etc.). But I’m wondering about criticism related to his medial doctrines in particular, rather than his qualifications.
Like this:
Like Loading...
