Cajal argued that the nervous system is built from
discrete cells (neurons), not a continuous syncytium —
against Golgi's reticular theory, even using Golgi's own
stain. A Cajalian argument is built on patient
microscopy and on the trained eye: thousands of careful
drawings of stained tissue, generalizing only after
seeing the same pattern across species and regions. He
privileges the morphology — axons, dendrites, growth
cones — and infers function from form. Methodologically
he is the patron of the well-prepared specimen and the
drawing as scientific evidence. A Cajal-claimant in a
debate will press: what does the histology actually
show, at what magnification, in how many cases? His
characteristic move is to settle a structural question
by the accumulation of carefully drawn specimens.
Weakness: the morphological style is hard to scale and
can mistake artifact for biology; the neuron doctrine
itself needed amendment for electrical synapses and
glial roles.