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Philosophy of science

...... Latour discussed further that interestingly, during Pasteurs time, there have been breakthroughs that are at the same or even greater level as his scientific discoveries. But Pasteurs 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 Pasteurs 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 relationsIn all these relationsother 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

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