T. Schlich, Linking cause and disease in the laboratory: Robert Koch's method of superimposing visual and 'functional' representations of bacteria, HIST PHIL L, 22(1), 2000, pp. 43-58
Robert Koch based his claim that specific microorganisms cause particular d
iseases on laboratory studies. This paper examines how Koch set up a plausi
ble line of argument by using special methods of representing bacteria. One
kind of representation consisted in making the bacteria visible; the other
mode of representation was based on disease phenomena. Using a range of te
chniques of isolating and controlling microorganisms, Koch combined these d
ifferent modes of representation in a way that made his claims convincing.
Thus, the microorganism as a specific cause of disease emerged through a ch
ain of repeated processes of selection and representation in the laboratory
.