Introduction à L'Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale

"Probably the greatest classic on the principles of physiological investigation and the scientific method applied to the life sciences." (Garrison-Morton 1766.501) In this work, Claude Bernard (1813-1878) presented his own personal analysis of the scientific method in a manner which earned him outstanding commendation from the philosophers of science: he was an ardent but by no means uncritical devotee of experiment, while remaining keenly appreciative of the role of hypothesis. Among many other accomplishments, he was one of the first to suggest the use of blind experiments to ensure the objectivity of scientific observations.