The Abuse of Scientific Knowledge

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As the 19th century ended, great advances had been made in the field of surgery, including the crucial development of antiseptics and anesthesia, which raised the status of a surgeon from the low-class depths it experienced in the beginning of the century, when his use extended little beyond amputation and cauterization. Surgeons, unlike doctors in the early Victorian period, had the occasion to "walk the wards"(1) and gain first-hand experience in their field. Doctors, however, were for the most part given their medical knowledge by their fathers, and though they studied at renowned institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, their studies there did not necessarily require those in medicine. In fact, doctors at that time did not even need an actual license at all.

As the century progressed and new scientific breakthroughs were discovered, more gravity was given to medicine and quack medications and practices slowly began to be discarded. Surgeon and doctor became an integrated profession, and medical knowledge became a respected expertise.

At the height of this scientific discovery, a maniac with great anatomical knowledge burst into public consciousness and twisted everything that sound medicine stood for. Jack the Ripper mutilated his victims, but not in a haphazard way. His method is in fact one of the things that made his murders stand out (and is what helps current Ripperologists determine which victims can really be attributed to the Ripper). Jack the Ripper actually removed certain internal organs with a deftness and speed that could only be attributed to strong anatomical and very likely surgical knowledge.

The revelation of this information certainly recharacterized Jack the Ripper as a calculated, perhaps even brilliant murderer who used his skills for the darkest purpose. A doctor, who was held in regard as dignified in the Victorian era, should not have been capable of this kind of slaughter – but the Ripper proved that wrong. He showed that people were capable of all kinds of inhumane feats, and that knowledge did in fact equal power, but could easily be misused to the torment and murder of innocents.

The possession of at least decent anatomical knowledge has been a key factor in investigating suspects in the Ripper case. Some historians today will argue suspects that have no record of medical studies or other experience in anatomy, but even the doctors who performed post-mortems on the Ripper victims assert that the incisions made and especially the speed with which they were executed (Catharine Eddowes’ mutilations were performed in approximately ten minutes) would require at least basic if not expert anatomical knowledge.(2) This criterion was not necessarily the strongest factor in the contemporary police investigation, but it is useful today in discarding or further studying suspects.

(1) "Victorian Medicine," http://www.geocities.com/victorianmedicine/entire.html

(2) In a report following the post-mortem examination of Annie Chapman: "Obviously the work was that of an expert- of one, at least, who had such knowledge of anatomical or pathological examinations as to be enabled to secure the pelvic organs with one sweep of the knife." http://www.casebook.org/victims/chapman.html?show=5

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