The Case of Ignaz Semmelweis and the Popperian Methodology

Semmelweis’ discovery of the etiology of childbed fever has long attracted the attention of historians of science. In recent years it has also become of increasing interest to philosophers of science, who analyse Semmelweis’ methodology from various angles. These perspectives include, for instance, hypothetico-deductivism, inference to the best (or the only) explanation and the Kuhnian concept of paradigms. I discuss certain aspects of these debates and argue that Popperian methodology is superior at capturing the dynamics of the growth of knowledge. It cherishes a free critical spirit that drives knowledge forward.