“A Diversion and Failure” by June Goodfield  

Reading guides:

Notice the saying from Beecher (89) that appears immediately before Goodfield’s essay; after you have read the essay, come back to this saying from the Proverbs of Plymouth Pulpit and explain why Goodfield placed it here.

How widespread is leprosy?  How infectious is (i.e., how easy is it to spread) this disease?  What causes the disease, scientifically speaking? (89-90)

What is the principal problem involved in finding a vaccine or a cure for this disease?  Why is this such a problem? (90)

Be able to identify the “principal characters” in this account, particularly how they function in the scientific process being chronicled.

What was the “problem” (91) that initiated the long-term project of this account?  What does initiating a growth “in vitro” mean?

How does the difference in orientation between a medical practitioner (91) and a research biologist come through in this account?  What do you think is the significance of this insight?

What does this account show you about the characteristics of normal scientific work? (92-101)

What was it that was finally accomplished by this long line of scientific research? (102-3)

What relationship, if any, can you discern from this reading for the intellectual journey?  For Bonaventure’s approach to nature?