Foucault and the Human Subject of Science (eBook)

Garðar Árnason (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2018
X, 107 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-02813-8 (ISBN)

Infos

?This book offers a clear analysis of Foucault's work on scientific knowledge and its relationship to individuals and society. It suggests a way of using Foucault's tools for science criticism and resistance, while avoiding the pitfalls of vulgar relativism or irrational anti-science views. Two cases of scientific conflict are considered. The first considers left-handers as subjects of science, in particular studies which purport to show that left-handers die on average younger than right-handers. The second case considers Icelanders as subjects of science in the context of a partly failed attempt to construct a genetic database encompassing the entire nation.The book will be of interest to bioethicists and philosophers who are concerned with the interaction between science and its human subjects, as well as scholars concerned with Foucault's work on science.

?Garðar Árnason, Ph.D., studied philosophy at the University of Iceland and the University of Toronto. He is currently a researcher at the Institute of Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Tübingen. His main research interests include applied ethics (human and non-human research ethics, neuroethics, bioethics), free will, and the philosophy of science.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements 7
Contents 9
1 Introduction 11
References 15
2 Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge 17
2.1 The Origin and Development of Archaeology 17
2.2 Archaeology in Action 23
2.3 Madness, Medicine, Theory 33
References 39
3 Power, Knowledge, and the Politics of Truth 41
3.1 Power 42
3.2 Knowledge 47
3.3 Sciences of Man, Sciences of Nature 53
3.4 Politics of Truth 57
References 66
4 Left-Handers as Subjects of Science 69
4.1 Pre-scientific Conceptions of Left-Handedness 70
4.2 The Rise of the Scientific Study of Left-Handers 73
4.3 Left-Handed Science: The Longevity of Sinistrals 79
4.3.1 Why Think That Left-Handers May Have Reduced Longevity? 80
4.3.2 Study I: The Baseball Encyclopedia (1988) 81
4.3.3 Study II: The California Study (1991) 83
4.3.4 Study III: Marcel E. Salive et al. (1993) 85
4.4 Left-Handers and Knowledge Production 86
4.5 Conclusion 90
References 91
5 Icelanders as Subjects of Science 93
5.1 Introduction 93
5.2 The Icelandic Health Sector Database: The Plan 96
5.3 Eugenics, Nationalism, Nazi Experiments and the Icelandic Health Sector Database 99
5.4 The “Totally Informative Population” 106
References 112
6 Conclusion 115

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 29.10.2018
• Reihe/Serie: SpringerBriefs in Ethics
• Reihe/Serie: SpringerBriefs in Ethics
• Zusatzinfo: X, 107 p. 2 illus.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: archaeology of knowledge • Biopolitics • conceptions of left-handedness • Foucault’s archaeology of knowledge • icelanders as subjects of science • Icelandic science • madness, medicine, theory • origin and development of archaelology • sciences of man • sciences of nature • scientific study of left-handers • the icelandic health sector database • the politics of thruth • totally informative population
• ISBN-10: 3-030-02813-5 / 3030028135
• ISBN-13: 978-3-030-02813-8 / 9783030028138