母親想像力與畸形胎兒：近代法國學界對於怪物誕生成因之討論

Maternal Imagination and Abnormal Conception: The Discussion of Monstrous Births in the French Enlightenment

十五世紀到十八世紀期間，西方社會對於畸形怪物的誕生相當感興趣，並且觀察、記錄畸形胎兒的奇特外形與結構，進一步提出有關怪物生成原因的看法。當時其中一種看法認為，孕婦深受刺激的想像力將對子宮中的胎兒產生負面影響，導致畸形胎兒的誕生。本論文將以「母親想像力」為分析個案，深入研究法國學界對於這個解釋模式所提出的正反意見，以勾勒當時社會所呈現的多元複雜論辯氛圍，並且探討西方近代知識轉型的過程。

Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, many people in Europe had a strong interest in the phenemonon of abnormal birth. French intellectuals, in particular, were fascinated by so-called monstrous births. They observed, examined, and recorded the strange forms and structures of malformed fetuses, in order to study the possible causes of their abnormal conception. One prevalent view held that the imagination of pregnant women could have a direct influence on the fetus, and could result in the birth of monstrous babies. This article examines the notion of ＂maternal imagination＂ and uses it as a case study to understand debates among French intellectuals concerning the power of the imagination. In addition, the article attempts to shed light on how scientific knowledge was transformed in the modern world.