Philosophy of veterinary parasitology

Abstract

“Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.” (Lakatos, 1999: 102). Although this reformulation of Kant’s famous phrase may seem extreme, there is a grain of truth to it. Excellent articles on the history of veterinary parasitology have been published in this journal several decades ago. Coverage was provided for the case of Spain (Del Campillo, 1989), France (Touratier, 1989), Germany and Scandinavia (Enigk and Habil, 1989), the United States (Malone, 1989), and Canada (Slocombe, 1989). Yet none of them explicitly stated what their philosophical underpinnings were, if any. If Lakatos is right, then the lack of a solid philosophical framework hinders historical investigations such as these.