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Summary biomedical sciences and society
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Biomedical sciences in societyLecture 1
Science and technology in context
- Science, Technology and Society
- All three are intertwined; they emerge through mutual shaping
- The process of this shaping is often ‘fork-shaped’, and messy. Because they don’t
develop linearly to each other
Four views on technology and society
1. Instrumental view: society develops and uses technology to reach its own goals
2. Deterministic view: technological development follows its own trajectory, and
technological development has an impact on society
3. Interactive view (designing): society and technology influence each other
4. Interactive view (adapting): society and technology influence each other
Yuval Noah Harari
Homo deus illustrates the history of the human species, how we became the dominant
species, and which obstacle we must overcome to thrive.
1. Shared narratives allow us to collaborate at a large scale, and thus dominate as a
species.
2. The most prevalent narrative is humanism (in this view of the world, humans are the
central element and our individual freedom our greatest asset).
3. Algorithms could eventually replace us, depending on which future narrative takes
over:
o Transhumanism: humans should merge with computers to enhance their
capabilities
o Dataism: let algorithms become as powerful as they can become on their
own
Kevin Kelly
In 1952 there was an awakening of a force in our lives: Technology. Before this it already
existed, it just wasn’t as prominent in our lives. Technology is anything useful a human
makes. It can accelerate all aspects of life, which we should engage with. For us technology
is an extension of life.
Technology is important for us to survive. Neanderthals did not have technology, and their
life span was much shorter (20-30 years max), because they couldn’t protect themselves
using weapons, growing food was hard, etc. Besides that, if you die early, you can’t do a lot
of learning in life as an individual, as well as a society.
With only a small amount of technology (stone and wood combined), humans were able to
live longer and migrate all over the world, becoming the dominant species of the planet. So,
technology, is the most powerful force that has been unleased on this planet, and it has
become who we are.
, Tutorial 1
The development of birth control: the pill
- Started in the 60s
- Sexual revolution
- Detachment of sexuality and reproduction
- Women’s emancipation
- Emancipation of homosexuals
- The process of its making
o Enabled by unequal power structures
o Ethical?
The birth control pill shaped cultural beliefs and preferences
- Changes the relation between sex and reproduction
- Delegates responsibility to the used
- Gender-specific distribution of responsibilities
Cultural beliefs and preferences also shaped the birth-control pill
- From anti-menstruation pain to anti-conception
- Nature, shape, and use of tech artefact was changed
- New contraceptives produce new geography of responsibilities
The development of the NIP-test
- NIPT= Non-Invasive Prenatal Test
- Development of prenatal diagnostics
- Dutch insurance: NIPT is not refunded (175 euro), unless there is a medical indication
Issues raised in the documentary
- Society generally brings us to believe a narrative of Down’s syndrome that is tragic
and disastrous
- There are increasing societal pressures on new parents to abort unborn babies with
Down’s syndrome
- Society has accepted termination with little public debate regarding the ethical
issues of prenatal screening
- The voice and experience of individuals living with Down’s syndrome is excluded
from debate
- Will the new, more accurate prenatal screening test affect who we want to live with
in this world?
Science and technology
- A complex development
- Ambiguous meaning
- Diverse effects
biomedical technology developers do not operate in isolation from society
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