SOC 2101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Cholera, Medicalization, Determinism
16 Mar 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
To relieve anxiety, they have typically sought explanations for why illness occurs and why it strikes some rather than others. Most often, these explanations defined illness as a deserved punishment for sinful or foolish behaviors and blamed individuals for their own illnesses. Provides psychological reassurance by reinforcing people"s belief in a just world in which punishment only falls on the guilty. Miasma theory of disease a theory of disease that posits that disease is caused by foul smells that emanate from soil, water, or air (fumes) Cholera, western world in 1830s, killing victims suddenly and horrifyingly, through overwhelming dehydration brought on by uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting. Illness is objective; there is scientific consensus on what is normal and what is illness. Illness is subjective; what is normal and what is illness may be highly contested. Non-moral; conditions and behaviors are labeled illness scientifically, without considerations or consequences apolitical label.
