Question

Tragically, Dr. Semmelweis inadvertently spread the disease (puerperal fever/child- fever) to 12 other women after examining a woman in labor suffering from a festering cervical cancer. As a consequence, his hypothesis that child-bed fever/ puerperal fever is spread by “cadaveric material” had to be modified. What was the modified hypothesis? What logical “fallacy” had Semmelweis committed?

Answer 1

Semmelweis had observed that maternal deaths from puerperal fever occurred much more often when women gave birth at his hospital where autopsies were also conducted than at home. He wanted to know why this was occurring. Semmelweis’ hypothesis was that puerperal fever was a contagious disease caused by some type of matter carried to pregnant patients on the hands of doctors from autopsied bodies. Though the germ theory of disease didn’t yet exist, Semmelweis had a feeling the two were related. He immediately instructed his residents to start washing up.

Semmelweis has unwittingly committed a logical fallacy which had the form- If H is true I would also be true.

False conclusion- H is true

His implication I, was that washing hands after doing autopsies will prevent the fever.

Hypothesis H was that cadaveric matter was the sole cause of the fever.

But the reasoning is fallacious as I can be true when H is false. For example, apples that are not green and hard can also be sour.