Pasteurization of France by Bruno

Pasteurization of France by Bruno Latour

Since its inception, science as a field of systems, methods and knowledge has dominated and led intellectual development of societies. As early as the 16th century and until today, science is considered a driving force that is both exclusive and encompassing. It is exclusive because as a specialist field, science is understood and developed by scientists and experts in its disciplines. While it is exclusive as a discipline or field of knowledge, science is also encompassing, affecting the lives of people and both the social and physical environments they live in. Indeed, in all aspects of our lives, science is present, not only in the body of knowledge being studied, but also in the systems and methods that societies use to rationally think, act and behave.

Because science is a highly-specialized field of knowledge and systems, its creation and development is shrouded in mystery. Only those who pursue and succeed in becoming a specialist of expert in science (i.e., a scientist) are able to demystify it. Further reinforcing this mystery is the fact that people need science to explain phenomena, or more relevantly, they need it to resolve a problem or difficulty. Medical doctors, for example, help sick people become healthy again through medicines, procedures and tools. Through thorough research and exploration, science has improved the quality of life of societies in the world, and as a result, both society and science have been influential in determining the progress and development of science from hereon to the future. (Such as, researching for a cure for cancer, a disease that continues to afflict many people, yet no cure has been developed yet for it).

It goes without saying, then, that society and science are interdependent with each other. In fact, the cancer example demonstrates the observation that science or trends in science reflects the concerns and needs of the society at the time. Indeed, this has been the case for most of the scientific developments that occurred in the past centuries, such as the discovery of vaccine to prevent people from being afflicted with a host of diseases and illnesses. This scientific breakthrough, originated by Edward Jenner and later generalized and became regulatory during Louis Pasteur's time, is one of the best examples of society's influence to science and scientific development.

This observation, however, was challenged by Bruno Latour, author of the book, the Pasteurization of France. In his book, he refuted the notion that 'science can be explained completely by looking at society.' He argued instead that the course of scientific development was determined primarily by the 'political forces or groups' whose greater agenda involved utilizing science as their tool so that society will perceive them as believable and objective. To support his argument, Latour used Pasteur's success as an example of a scientific development that was 'politically-motivated' more than socially-determined. In the Pasteur example, the author posited that there is a political force shaping the future of scientific development. 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.