ABSTRACT
An examination of major reference sources underscores the multiple meanings of the term sex. A rigorous science of sex was a relatively late development surfacing with the growth of empirical and naturalistic philosophies, careful anatomical studies, and the introduction of research tools such as the microscope. Aristotle's work on reproduction, sex, and embryology set the intellectual agenda for centuries. This chapter focuses on selected biological studies, beginning with the discovery of sperm; and also refers to the works of earlier background studies that provide context for understanding modern developments. The discovery of sperm also resulted in heated debates about their role in reproduction. The chapter explores the questions, puzzling implications, and the imaginative theories growing out of the new worlds revealed by microscopy. The role of chance in macro evolution and in microscopic human origins as opposed to divine predetermination is a continuing source of tension between creationists and evolutionists.
