ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

The Epistemological Fruitfulness of Collaboration in the Medical Sciences

• In Event: New Perspectives on Collaboration in Science 1

English Abstract

The present paper aims to examine key trends within the conceptual framework of scientific collaboration in contemporary medicine.
Recent studies have emphasized that the development of medical knowledge is shaped by both its inherent fragmentation and the tension between competing models and the cooperative mechanisms needed to resolve epistemological problems. In this context, pluralism has become increasingly important for contemporary medicine. Collaborative practices help reveal professional blind spots and counteract disciplinary conservatism; they also foster scientific creativity by exposing researchers to alternative perspectives.
Such interactions highlight the epistemic advantages of pluralism over monism, a trend that has grown especially visible in medicine since the early 21st century, as diverse epistemic agents combine their expertise to address shared challenges. A notable example is the transformation of clinical trial design since the 1990s. Traditional methods for evaluating drug efficacy, which incorporated non-specific (formerly “placebo”) effects, proved difficult to apply to interventions such as manual therapy, surgery, or psychology, particularly due to the impracticality of double-blind procedures. By bringing together diverse practitioners and methodological experts, clinical research has been able to refine these designs and deepen our understanding of one of medicine’s central epistemic issues: the nature of non-specific effects and their distinction from specific therapeutic mechanisms.

Author

• Pierre-Luc L'HERMITE, IRPHIL