Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

savage probably suffers less than a civilised man from any given injury, and hence may
“[A]
more fortitude. An hysterical woman probably does not suffer more than one with a
display
healthy nervous system, but she complains more loudly, for she has her feelings in all
more
less under control. Race appears to exercise an influence in pain; some of the native races
things
India appear to suffer far less than Europeans under surgical operations of a similar kind.”
of
“The Science and Art of Surgery” 1884, quoted in Bourke 2014)
(Treatise:
thus, the science of pain placed
And
men firmly at the top of the great
European
of being. The gender, race and level of
chain
of people both decided and was
“civilization”
issue of under-treatment for pain among
The
and minority groups continues to affect
women
today, almost 150 years after the Earnest
patients
letter. That is almost exactly as
Englishwoman’s
as we have known about endometriosis,
long
example, a painful condition affecting 10% of
for
Given its history, is it possible to approach
1.
as a purely scientific question?
pain
What kinds of knowledge about pain, science
2.
politics are necessary to find a way
and
What examples can you think of that show
3.
politics and history affect theories in the
how
of the central enquiries in the human
One
has been to make sense of our
sciences
human variation, and to sort our
astounding
and differences into meaningful
similarities
Much of theory-building and
categories.
formation in this AOK has been
concept
towards explaining phenomena
directed
on a spectrum of human similarity and
found
In turn, scientific claims about their
logic.
of sentience affected whether they would
level
considered full members in the category
be
beings”, with huge political and social
“human
Emile Durkheim, who was among
difference.
first academic sociologists, argued that: “[to
the
a complete understanding of any social
gain]
we have to understand why it
phenomenon
into existence in the first place (its causes
came
origins) and the reason it goes on existing
and
II. Perspectives
II. Perspectives
determined by their position in fool-proof
consequences.
For ref lection
Treatment of pain
women that is still poorly diagnosed.
Consider these questions.
forward?
human sciences today?
(its effects or functions)” (Durkheim 1895).
215