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CATEGORIES:Departmental Seminars in History and Philosophy of
  Science
SUMMARY:Magic bullets - Jacob Stegenga (University of Vict
 oria)
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20151112T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20151112T180000
UID:TALK61106AThttp://talks.cam.ac.uk
URL:http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/61106
DESCRIPTION:Some medical interventions – such as arsphenamine\
 , penicillin\, and insulin – are good examples of 
 'magic bullets'. The magic bullet model of medical
  interventions represents two principles: specific
 ity and effectiveness. The magic bullet model gain
 ed currency in the mid-20th century with the intro
 duction of antibiotics and insulin. However\, scie
 ntists have begun to recognize the complexity of m
 any pathophysiological mechanisms\, and philosophe
 rs have begun to note what such complexity entails
 . I argue that once we appreciate the complexity o
 f physiological mechanisms\, the expectation of ef
 fectiveness and specificity ought to be mitigated.
  The expectation that drugs can intervene on one o
 r few micro-level targets and thereby bring about 
 an effect that is both clinically significant and 
 symptomatically specific is\, for many of our cont
 emporary medical interventions\, unfounded. Nevert
 heless\, the magic bullet model is a good normativ
 e ideal for medical interventions\, and the low ef
 fectiveness of many contemporary medical intervent
 ions can be understood in virtue of the fact that 
 these interventions and their target diseases do n
 ot satisfy the principles of the magic bullet mode
 l.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philoso
 phy of Science
CONTACT:Marta Halina
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