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SUMMARY:Magic bullets - Jacob Stegenga (University of Victoria)
DTSTART:20151112T163000Z
DTEND:20151112T180000Z
UID:TALK61106@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Marta Halina
DESCRIPTION:Some medical interventions – such as arsphenamine\, penicill
 in\, and insulin – are good examples of 'magic bullets'. The magic bulle
 t model of medical interventions represents two principles: specificity an
 d effectiveness. The magic bullet model gained currency in the mid-20th ce
 ntury with the introduction of antibiotics and insulin. However\, scientis
 ts have begun to recognize the complexity of many pathophysiological mecha
 nisms\, and philosophers have begun to note what such complexity entails. 
 I argue that once we appreciate the complexity of physiological mechanisms
 \, the expectation of effectiveness and specificity ought to be mitigated.
  The expectation that drugs can intervene on one or few micro-level target
 s and thereby bring about an effect that is both clinically significant an
 d symptomatically specific is\, for many of our contemporary medical inter
 ventions\, unfounded. Nevertheless\, the magic bullet model is a good norm
 ative ideal for medical interventions\, and the low effectiveness of many 
 contemporary medical interventions can be understood in virtue of the fact
  that these interventions and their target diseases do not satisfy the pri
 nciples of the magic bullet model.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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