Abstract
This thesis investigates theoretical and empirical developments in the
sociology of medical knowledge in the period between 1951 and 1990.
The problems addressed are twofold. First, how have medical sociologists
problematised medical knowledge and secondly, what makes medical
knowledge impervious to sociological scrutiny? The theoretical perspective
adopted in this study is a critical sociology of knowledge that draws insights
from feminist critical theory and from the ideas of Michel Foucault. The study
develops an analytical framework based on a heuristic distinction between
sociological studies of medical practice, medical education and medical
research. The method of investigation comprises analysis of relevant
theoretical studies followed by in-depth analysis of five empirical case studies
of medical practice, education and research.
The first conclusion reached is that sociological studies of medical practice
tend to investigate the application of medical knowledge; that studies of
medical education focus on examining the transmission of medical knowledge;
and that studies of medical research examine the production of medical
knowledge. The study revealed that the content of medical scientific
knowledge was excluded from sociological scrutiny in the studies of medical
practice and education considered here, due to the positivist assumption that
medical scientific knowledge of biophysical reality is universal and objective
in nature, and hence not suitable as a topic for sociological enquiry. In
contrast, sociological studies of medical research examine the limits and
validity of medical scientific knowledge.
The second conclusion reached is that there is a considerable degree of
internal differentiation within the sociological studies of medical practice,
education and research. Sociologists are interested in studying aspects of
medical knowledge which are subject to medical disagreement. Also,
sociologists are inclined to study aspects of medical knowledge in which there
is an apparent distance or disjuncture between the cultures of patients and
doctors. Government interest in scrutinising or regulating a medical problem
also focuses sociologists attention on some medical problems rather than
others. Conversely, medical knowledge tends to remain impervious to
sociological scrutiny if it is not subject to either medical disagreement, cultural
disjuncture or government scrutiny.