Iain Crinson - The Biomedical Sciences in Society: An Interdisciplinary Analysis

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Over the course of the last three decades, the research horizons of biomedical science have widened to such an extent that the disciplinary boundaries that once clearly demarcated the scope of knowledge of the social and the natural worlds have begun to crumble. The promissory visions set out in the research programmes of biomedical science increasingly involve pushing the frontiers of scientific knowledge generation beyond the threshold of the human body and into the domain of the social. For example, recent developments in both the neurosciences and genomics now offer radically new ways to re-imagine a range of contemporary social concerns through the lens of neural pathways or epigenetic modifications. Nevertheless, alongside these out of the lab initiatives have emerged new and frequently unanticipated social, bioethical, and legal dilemmas and challenges.

The aim of this textbook is to provide a comprehensive introduction to a wide range of social analysis that has sought to assess and contextualise this expanding role for the biomedical sciences. The research cited in this book therefore ranges from micro-level studies of interactions between scientists in the laboratory as they seek to further their understanding of microbiological processes through to a macro-level analysis of the decision-making processes involved in the construction of regulatory frameworks for the governance of biomedical research. From questions about the level of trust that the public place in expert knowledge and scientific innovation to concerns about the commercial exploitation of personal biomaterial altruistically donated to biobanks. There is a critical assessment of why colour-coded brain scans used to represent the workings of the human brain have such an allure for the media and the public and a detailed examination of the challenges faced in delivering on the promise of a pharmacogenomic-based system of disease management. These and many other areas of social analysis and research, which are focused on the impact of biomedical science in society, together constitute the interdisciplinary (ITD) field known as Social Studies of Science and Technology (SSST).

A key objective of this textbook is to describe and demonstrate the analytical tools drawn upon within SSST in order to enable the reader to develop their own informed and critical assessment of the role now played by the biomedical sciences in the social world. A second objective is to make a contribution to building a mutual understanding and constructive dialogue between the social and biomedical sciences. Such an engagement can only enhance future interdisciplinary work that addresses, for example, the common health challenges now faced by societies across the globe.

The intended primary readership for this textbook are final-year undergraduate and post-graduates studying science in society type modules that are increasingly being included within social, political, or biomedical science academic programmes of study. The material in this book can also be utilised as a primer for those intending to undertake post-graduate research, particularly if engaged in boundary work between the social and biological worlds. The text is constructed so as to enable those with limited biomedical science knowledge to get to grips with the major developments within the field and for those with a limited working knowledge of the social sciences to gain an understanding of the key social theoretical and conceptual approaches that are drawn upon when contextualising the dynamic interrelationship between biomedicine and society.

There has also been a significant upsurge in the public interest in developments within the biomedical sciences, not least in terms of the social impact of pandemics such as Covid-19 and the public trust afforded to expert knowledge. This book is therefore also designed to be accessible to an informed general readership interested in a wide-ranging analysis of these developments as they impact on social life.