RT journal article
T1 The Phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Spain
A1 Pérez Pérez, Antonio
A1 Vallejo Villalobos, José Ramón
A2 Anatomía PatológicaBiología Celular, Histología, Historia de la Ciencia, Medicina Legal y Forense y Toxicología
K1 legal and forensic medicine
K1 18th–19th centuries
K1 history of medicine
K1 ignorance
K1 alcoholism
K1 temperance
K1 science and society
K1 medicina legal y forense
K1 siglos XVIII-XIX
K1 historia de la medicina
K1 ignorancia
K1 alcoholismo
K1 templanza
K1 ciencia y sociedad
AB Spontaneous human combustion, today scientifically discredited, was considered a legitimate medical entity in Europe beginning in the 17th century. The aim of this study is to analyze Spanish medical conceptions about this phenomenon between the 18th and 19th centuries, starting from the world context. Primary sources were used with a deductive–inductive approach. Beyond providing an account of a discarded medical theory, this work explores how certain categories of knowledge persist, disappear, and resurface under different belief systems. We analyze how the Spanish medical discourse on SHC evolved in three stages: exposure, debate, and rejection. This allows us to observe changes in medical mentality regarding factors such as searching for sources of ignition and moderating alcohol consumption as a preventive health measure. This study and its historiographical approach enable us to explore broader issues relating to ignorance, alternative ideas, the stability of scientific knowledge over time, and shifts in the field of legal and forensic medicine. This research provides a model for analyzing the complex dynamics of knowledge and its evolution at the intersection of science, culture, and power.
PB MDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
SN 2409-9252
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37123
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/37123
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 08-nov-2026