Uncertain and under Quarantine: Toward a Sociology of Medical Ignorance
Item Type
Author
Language
English
Abstract
At the center of the COVID-19 pandemic lies a ubiquitous feature of medicine. Medicine is permeated with ignorance. Seizing this moment to assess the current state of medical sociology, this article articulates a sociology of medical ignorance. We join insights from earlier medical sociological scholarship on uncertainty with emerging research in the sociology of ignorance to help make sense of the omnipresent but sometimes invisible dynamics related to the unknowns in medicine. Then we examine two streams of inquiry with a focus on uncertainty and ignorance—(1) research on the interconnections between technology, medical authority, and ignorance and (2) research on lay expertise within the context of ever-present uncertainties. For decades, and to good effect, medical sociologists have asked, “What does medicine know, and what are the consequences of such knowing?” Going forward, we encourage medical sociologists to examine the unknown in medicine and the consequences of not knowing. © American Sociological Association 2021.
Subject
Ignorance
Uncertainty
Lay expertise
Medical authority
Medical technology
Publication Title
Publication Year
2021
Publication Date
2021
Source
Scopus
License
ISSN
0022-1465
Physical Description
vol. 62, n. 3, pp. 271-285
Short Title
Uncertain and under Quarantine