Jutta Schickore is the Ruth N. Halls Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at Indiana University. She is the author of The Microscope and the Eye: A History of Reflections, 1740-1870, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

• Introduction: “A matter so obscure, so difficult, and likewise so new . . .”Chapter 1. Argument, Narrative, and Methods DiscourseChapter 2. Many, Many ExperimentsChapter 3. Trying AgainChapter 4. Newtonian Poison: A Mechanical Account of Viper VenomChapter 5. Experiment as the Only GuideChapter 6. Thousands of ExperimentsChapter 7. Practical CriticismsChapter 8. Controlling ExperimentChapter 9. UnobservablesChapter 10. Fragmentation and Modularity: Notes on CrotoxinConclusion: About MethodsAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"A compelling historical–philosophical account of the epistemology of experimentation in the life sciences from the late seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century. . . . the category of 'methods discourse' introduces a useful and nuanced dimension of analysis for the history of experimental life science. In developing a taxonomy of different levels on which this discourse operates, Schickore lays the groundwork for further exploration of methods sections as historical sources . . . . There is exciting work to be done in linking analyses of methods discourse to studies of method-making: material histories of instruments, model organisms, and experimental systems. As Schickore's book demonstrates, methods do not stand still."

Jutta Schickore is the Ruth N. Halls Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at Indiana University. She is the author of The Microscope and the Eye: A History of Reflections, 1740-1870, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

• Introduction: “A matter so obscure, so difficult, and likewise so new . . .”Chapter 1. Argument, Narrative, and Methods DiscourseChapter 2. Many, Many ExperimentsChapter 3. Trying AgainChapter 4. Newtonian Poison: A Mechanical Account of Viper VenomChapter 5. Experiment as the Only GuideChapter 6. Thousands of ExperimentsChapter 7. Practical CriticismsChapter 8. Controlling ExperimentChapter 9. UnobservablesChapter 10. Fragmentation and Modularity: Notes on CrotoxinConclusion: About MethodsAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"A compelling historical–philosophical account of the epistemology of experimentation in the life sciences from the late seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century. . . . the category of 'methods discourse' introduces a useful and nuanced dimension of analysis for the history of experimental life science. In developing a taxonomy of different levels on which this discourse operates, Schickore lays the groundwork for further exploration of methods sections as historical sources . . . . There is exciting work to be done in linking analyses of methods discourse to studies of method-making: material histories of instruments, model organisms, and experimental systems. As Schickore's book demonstrates, methods do not stand still."

Jutta Schickore is the Ruth N. Halls Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at Indiana University. She is the author of The Microscope and the Eye: A History of Reflections, 1740-1870, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

• Introduction: “A matter so obscure, so difficult, and likewise so new . . .”Chapter 1. Argument, Narrative, and Methods DiscourseChapter 2. Many, Many ExperimentsChapter 3. Trying AgainChapter 4. Newtonian Poison: A Mechanical Account of Viper VenomChapter 5. Experiment as the Only GuideChapter 6. Thousands of ExperimentsChapter 7. Practical CriticismsChapter 8. Controlling ExperimentChapter 9. UnobservablesChapter 10. Fragmentation and Modularity: Notes on CrotoxinConclusion: About MethodsAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"A compelling historical–philosophical account of the epistemology of experimentation in the life sciences from the late seventeenth to the mid-twentieth century. . . . the category of 'methods discourse' introduces a useful and nuanced dimension of analysis for the history of experimental life science. In developing a taxonomy of different levels on which this discourse operates, Schickore lays the groundwork for further exploration of methods sections as historical sources . . . . There is exciting work to be done in linking analyses of methods discourse to studies of method-making: material histories of instruments, model organisms, and experimental systems. As Schickore's book demonstrates, methods do not stand still."