Thinking differently with Chinese medicine: 'Explanations' and case studies for a postcolonial STS

Area of Science:

• Science and Technology Studies (STS)
• Medical Anthropology
• Postcolonial Studies

Background:

• The English word 'nature' translates to 'ziran' in Mandarin, encompassing both scientific and older philosophical/medical meanings.
• Traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy use 'ziran' to mean 'spontaneously so' or 'self-unfolding', concepts less intuitive in English.
• Practitioners often negotiate the integration of biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine in their daily work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how Taiwanese Chinese medical practitioners relate the dual meanings of 'ziran' (nature).
• To understand how practitioners negotiate the interplay between biomedicine and Chinese medicine.
• To apply the concept of 'patterning' (biàn zhèng) to analyze 'ziran'-nature relations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of Taiwanese Chinese medical practitioners' accounts of their professional practice.
• Application of 'patterning' (biàn zhèng) as an analytical framework inspired by postcolonial STS and anthropology.
• Focus on 'appearances' (xiang, xiàng) rather than underlying mechanisms in case studies.

Main Results:

• 'Patterning' (biàn zhèng) is used to specify shifting arrangements and misalignments leading to ill health.
• This approach shifts inquiry from underlying mechanisms to narrating 'patterned appearances'.
• Diagnoses are presented as one of many equally valid interpretations, resisting a single analytical framework.

Conclusions:

• The study offers a postcolonial STS-informed perspective by integrating diverse patterning approaches.
• 'Patterning' (biàn zhèng) provides a novel way to understand 'ziran'-nature relationships in medical practice.
• This framework highlights the importance of 'appearances' (xiang, xiàng) in understanding health and illness.