Pasteurization of France by Bruno Essay

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Illustratively, he identified the 'hygienist movement' as the "primary mover" that highlighted and greatly recognized Pasteur's recognition to science.

As a political force, the hygienist movement, or hygienists, was described as a group of people whose self-interest lies in the extreme belief that in order to eradicate diseases, "all precautions of general hygiene" must be strictly followed (21). While this belief seems extremist today, Pasteur's time (19th century) and society has yet to achieve the medical developments that societies today are privileged to have. It is not surprising, then, that the hygienists campaigned for Pasteur and pasteurization as the solution to eradicate diseases. Fear for diseases became the main communication message of the hygienists, with Pasteur at the forefront, symbolizing the solution to cleanliness and eventually, disease control.

Latour discussed further that interestingly, during Pasteur's time, there have been breakthroughs that are at the same or even greater level as his scientific discoveries. But Pasteur's discoveries and breakthroughs were better campaigned and magnified in the eyes of the public through the hygienists (25). In fact, the hygienists played a significant role in influencing Pasteur's popularity and cementing his reputation as a scientist, in addition to the institutionalization of pasteurization as a scientific process and symbol of scientific development. Pointing out that political forces are inevitably influential components to determining scientific development throughout centuries, Latour reiterated (35-36):

There are not only "social" relations…in all these relations…other agents are present, acting, exchanging their contacts, imposing their aims, and redefining the social bond in a different way… the Pasteurians redefined their numbers, with little regard to whether some belonged to nature and others "to culture"… What interests them is whether they can be enslaved and what new forces can be created with these strange allies.

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This powerful illustration of the hygienist movement demonstrates two things: (i) science is, and will always be, vulnerable to political forces such as the hygienists, and (ii) the hygienists actually contributed to the structural order of society at the time. Point (ii) means that while it may seem that the hygienists have controlled history by popularizing Pasteur and pasteurization, they can also be credited for revolutionizing scientific development and bringing into surface debates and discussions for and against Pasteur's discoveries and scientific breakthroughs. In effect, science has developed through the hygienists as an intellectual exercise, allowing society, groups and individuals to critically analyze scientific breakthroughs and determine for themselves its value to society and history.

Through his book, Latour presented another perspective from which scientific development can be discussed and analyzed. Using Pasteur and pasteurization as examples for his argument, he successfully presented a valid point in analyzing the social aspects of science -- that is, science is not entirely socially-determined, but is also strongly influenced by political self-interests of groups and individuals.

Reference

Latour, B. 1988. The Pasteurization of France. Harvard University Press......

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