Scientific method in biology / by Elizabeth Blackwell.

  • Blackwell, Elizabeth, 1821-1910.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Scientific method in biology / by Elizabeth Blackwell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    indispensable. The human mind is so full of activities; Nature presents such an infinite variety of resources, that progress in research can never be hindered by the choice of right instead of wrong method. This is well stated by one of our most experi- 0 enced investigators when he says : ‘ Methods run with the manners and customs of the ages. In science there is no one method that can be considered indispensable. Attributes are indispensable ; observation, industry, accuracy are indispensable ; methods are not. They may be convenient, they may be useful, they may be expedient, but nothing more.’ This admirable statement throws a flood of light upon the confusion and perplexity of the present controversy. It shows the error of both the so-called unscientific and scientific parties. It shows the error (not unnatural) in the former of confounding together experiment, research, labora- tory, and scientific investigation, and classing them under one indiscriminate ban of cruelty ; it also shows the narrow vision and false reasoning of those who claim that right and wrong have no meaning when applied to the investigation of