Establishment of Cytochemical Techniques

Abstract

WHILE I welcome a measure of support which Drs. Baker and Sanders give to my criticisms of cytochemical techniques, their letter leaves no doubt that the principle underlying my article has evaded them. My remarks do not, and were not intended to, invalidate “nearly the whole of cytochemistry”. What my article does is point out that, in cytochemistry, too much reliance has been placed on arguments which have not been rigorously demonstrated as true. There are suggestive inductive arguments in favour of many techniques in current use, and these arguments have in the past been of great value as a guide to further research. But the time has now come when their premises must be critically examined by experiment, and the range of their validity established by deductive reasoning. As this is the main point at issue, I shall not endeavour to answer Drs. Baker and Sanders point by point, but shall restrict myself to illustrating the difference in our points of view from three of their points, one of which is a false deduction; the others illustrate the weakness of induction.