Common sense and medical sciences: a sociological study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64171/JSRD.5.2.28-35Keywords:
Common sense, Medical sciences, Sociology of health, Lay knowledge, Doctor–patient relationship, Health beliefsAbstract
The relationship between common sense and medical sciences represents a critical yet often overlooked area of sociological inquiry. Common sense, shaped by everyday experiences, cultural beliefs, traditions, and social norms, plays a significant role in how individuals perceive health, illness, diagnosis, and treatment. Medical sciences, on the other hand, are grounded in scientific rationality, standardized knowledge, and evidence-based practices. This sociological study examines the interaction, tension, and coexistence between common sense knowledge and biomedical understanding in healthcare settings. It explores how patients’ lay interpretations of symptoms, illness causation, and healing practices influence health-seeking behavior, treatment compliance, and doctor–patient relationships. The study also analyzes how medical professionals respond to, negotiate with, or dismiss common-sense explanations during clinical encounters.
Drawing on sociological theories of knowledge, particularly the distinction between lay knowledge and expert systems, the study highlights how power, authority, and social context shape medical decision-making. It argues that common sense is not merely irrational or unscientific but socially constructed and culturally meaningful. In pluralistic societies like India, common sense often intersects with traditional medicine, religious beliefs, and indigenous healing practices, creating both complementarities and conflicts with modern medical science. The abstract emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive healthcare that recognizes patients’ lived experiences while maintaining scientific rigor. By bridging common sense and medical science, the study contributes to a more inclusive, humane, and socially responsive healthcare system.
References
Airhihenbuwa CO. Health and culture: Beyond the Western paradigm. Thousand Oaks (CA): Sage, 1995.
Beck U. Risk society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage, 1992.
Berger PL, Luckmann T. The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. New York: Anchor Books, 1966.
Blumer H. Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and method. Berkeley (CA): University of California Press, 1969.
Conrad P. The medicalization of society: On the transformation of human conditions into treatable disorders. Baltimore (MD): Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.
Conrad P, Barker KK. The social construction of illness: Key insights and policy implications. J Health Soc Behav. 2010;51(Suppl):S67–S79. DOI:10.1177/0022146510383495
Foucault M. The birth of the clinic: An archaeology of medical perception. New York: Vintage, 1973.
Freidson E. Profession of medicine: A study of the sociology of applied knowledge. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Giddens A. Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford (CA): Stanford University Press, 1991.
Helman CG. Culture, health and illness. 5th ed. London: Hodder Arnold, 2007.
Kleinman A. Patients and healers in the context of culture: An exploration of the borderland between anthropology, medicine, and psychiatry. Berkeley (CA): University of California Press, 1980.
Mannheim K. Ideology and utopia: An introduction to the sociology of knowledge. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1936.
Mechanic D, Meyer S. Concepts of trust among patients with serious illness. Soc Sci Med. 2000;51(5):657–668. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00014-9
Parsons T. The social system. New York: Free Press, 1951.
Qadeer I. Public health in India: Critical reflections. New Delhi: Daanish Books, 2011.
Schütz A. The phenomenology of the social world. Evanston (IL): Northwestern University Press, 1967.
Schutz A. On phenomenology and social relations. Chicago (IL): University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Schutz A. The phenomenology of the social world. Evanston (IL): Northwestern University Press, 1972.
Weber M. The theory of social and economic organization. New York: Oxford University Press, 1947.
Young A. When rational men fall sick: An inquiry into some assumptions made by medical anthropologists. Berkeley (CA): University of California Press, 2004.
Zola IK. Medicine as an institution of social control. Sociol Rev. 1972;20(4):487–504.
Zola IK. Pathways to the doctor—From person to patient. Soc Sci Med. 1973;7(9):677–689. doi:10.1016/0037-7856(73)90002-4.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Subal Tandi, Utkal Harpal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
