摘要：Anthropologists have long been interested in the study of biomedicine,
psychiatry and in the epistemology of science. With the constant growth of life
sciences, neurosciences and other disciplines trying to define the very nature
of the human brain, the need for an anthropological perspective on such
issues has never been greater. Anthropology is situated on the borders of
nature and culture, biology and society, the body and the mind. Science bears
within it the traces of historical truths and moral economies. It is a product of
what Allan Young calls ‘epistemic cultures’. While scientific activities need to
be understood in light of the social, economic and political dynamics which
underlie them, it is clearly not the anthropologist’s task to decide what is good
or bad science. Anthropological work has to do with unveiling the
epistemological premises of contemporary science, as well as its normative
impact on the way we think about ourselves, our behavior, what is considered
as normal and what is not. In that regard, Allan Young made a significant
contribution to the anthropological study of psychiatric science through his
pioneering book, The Harmony of Illusions: Inventing Post-traumatic Stress
Disorder (1995), in which he discusses the invention of Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD). In recent years, his research has centered on social
neurosciences, their epistemology and their conception of the brain and of
human nature. In this interview, Allan Young discusses the relative lack of
interest anthropologists have shown in examining the latest developments in
this field of science. While philosophers (among whom we may mention Ian
Hacking) and other social scientists have offered valuable insights regarding
the neurosciences, anthropologists remain unfortunately nowhere to be seen.
