An Experiment with an Air Pump

by

Shelagh Stephenson

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Dr Farleigh Character Analysis

Dr Farleigh is a research scientist known for his anatomy demonstrations. He doesn’t appear in the play, but numerous characters—namely Armstrong—reference him and his demonstrations. Like many of his contemporaries, Farleigh procures the cadavers he dissects in his demonstrations through the morally dubious act of body snatching—the illicit practice of stealing newly deceased bodies from gravesites. For Armstrong, who believes that personal morals should not impede on scientific progress, Farleigh’s graverobbing is entirely unproblematic. Roget, meanwhile, finds Farleigh’s methods more troubling.

Dr Farleigh Quotes in An Experiment with an Air Pump

The An Experiment with an Air Pump quotes below are all either spoken by Dr Farleigh or refer to Dr Farleigh . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Science and Morality  Theme Icon
).
Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes

Armstrong: Digging up corpses is necessary if we’re to totter out of the Dark Ages. You can dissect a stolen body with moral qualms or with none at all and it won’t make a blind bit of difference to what you discover. Discovery is neutral. Ethics should be left to philosophers and priests. I’ve never had a moral qualm in my life, and it would be death to science if I did. That’s why I’ll be remembered as a great physician, Roget, and you’ll be forgotten as a man who made lists.

Related Characters: Thomas Armstrong (speaker), Peter Mark Roget, Isobel Bridie, Dr Farleigh
Related Symbols: Isobel’s Bones
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
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Dr Farleigh Quotes in An Experiment with an Air Pump

The An Experiment with an Air Pump quotes below are all either spoken by Dr Farleigh or refer to Dr Farleigh . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Science and Morality  Theme Icon
).
Act 2, Scene 2 Quotes

Armstrong: Digging up corpses is necessary if we’re to totter out of the Dark Ages. You can dissect a stolen body with moral qualms or with none at all and it won’t make a blind bit of difference to what you discover. Discovery is neutral. Ethics should be left to philosophers and priests. I’ve never had a moral qualm in my life, and it would be death to science if I did. That’s why I’ll be remembered as a great physician, Roget, and you’ll be forgotten as a man who made lists.

Related Characters: Thomas Armstrong (speaker), Peter Mark Roget, Isobel Bridie, Dr Farleigh
Related Symbols: Isobel’s Bones
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis: