CfP: "Neutrality and Non-Neutrality of Medical Knowledge", "Mefisto. Rivista di Medicina Filosofia e Storia"

We welcome contributions for a topical issue on “Neutrality and non-neutrality of medical knowledge” to appear in the journal Mefisto. Rivista di Medicina, Filosofia e Storia.

Scope of the issue

 The still open debate on the political dimension of scientific expertise in the global covid-19 pandemic has highlighted —even to the general public— how medicine and therapeutic practices are not neutral with respect to the social, economic, cultural and political context in which they are embedded.

However, the debate on the neutrality or non-neutrality of science is certainly not new in meta-scientific debates. The issue has been addressed in different ways by philosophers, historians and sociologists of science, who have mobilised specific conceptual tools to support their positions on both sides of the spectrum.

This special issue aims to create a space for an interdisciplinary dialogue in which philosophers, historians and sociologists of science with various theoretical orientations can discuss this topic with a focus on medical knowledge. 

In particular, the special issue aims to collect a series of contributions dedicated to the analysis of scientific or technological controversies (drawn either from the past or from the present) capable of stimulating an epistemological reflection on the non-neutrality of medical knowledge. Each contribution should therefore be composed of a historical or sociological part analysing a specific case study of controversy and a part aimed at clarifying its epistemological implications.

Guideline for authors

The special issue is open to contributions from different intellectual traditions such as: STS, Historical epistemology, Social history of science, Sociology of controversies, History and Philosophy of Medicine etc.

Articles should be written in English. They should not exceed 40.000 characters (including spaces and footnotes). Authors must indicate from 3 to 5 keywords.

The deadline for sending contributions is scheduled for 30 October 2022.

Manuscripts will undergo a standard double-blind peer-review.

For further information, please contact Antonio Piccolomini d'Aragona: or Gerardo Ienna.