The Woods Hole Cantata: Essays on Science and Society

Synopsis: The Woods Hole Cantata essays articulate a scientist's remarkable attempt to transcend the fragmentation of a society of specialists. Dr. Weissmann explores the social, cultural, and esthetic ramifications of contemporary biomedical research, placing the sophisticated insights of the highly specialized laboratory into a broader context of intellectual history. The essays draw on his wealth of experience--as teacher and clinician at Bellevue Hospital, marine biologist at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and investigator of the inflammatory response--and cover topics ranging from funding of AIDS research to copper cures for arthritis, from William Osler's Aequanimitas to medical journalism in Berlin. Throughout, Dr. Weissmann demonstrates how the scientist's faculties of logical thought and close observation can enrich his perception of society and be brought to bear on a wide range of social and humanistic issues.