Abstract

During its career in North American social sciences and anthropology since the late 1960s the concept of ‘biomedicine’ acquired a large variety of meanings, sometimes even contradictory ones. Originating in research on biological and medical phenomena in technical areas like nuclear weapons, space flight, informatics or engineering, the term ‘biomedical’ entered politics and the social sciences, especially medical anthropology. Here it could mean medical research methods derived from biology as opposed to behavioural research or social sciences in general, the complex of Western health care in non-Western countries and the reductionism and alleged Cartesian dualism of its approach - the opposite of traditional, religious, holistic and psychic views and treatment of illness. Oscillating between the levels of anthropological research or analysis and of practical health care delivery, intra- and cross-cultural perspectives and affirmative and critical attitudes the term has to be carefully considered in any reading of past and recent literature. The rather late German reception included replacing the term Schulmedizin born of older controversies on naturopathy, as well as naming the more somatic part of illness and medicine—as opposed to psychic or social aspects—and serving as the criticised object of many feminist and post-colonial studies on health.