This stimulating collection of essays is the product of face-to-face dialogues among anthropologists, sociologists, and philosopher-historians, all of whom focus their attention on the newly created biomedical technologies and their application in practice. Drawing on ethnographic and historical case studies, the authors show how biomedical technologies are produced through the agencies of tools and techniques, scientists and doctors, funding bodies, patients, clients, and the public. Despite shared concerns, these essays reveal that the authors have achieved no consensus about the objectives of their research, and the deep epistemological divides clearly remain - making for provocative reading.

'This volume's strength lies in its multiple understandings of scientific objects and practices. … It is still, a decade after publication, relevant to continuing concerns, reflecting the continuing lack of agreement in epistemology, but approaches that nonetheless, articulate new knowledge.'

Source: The Journal of Biosocial Science