The importance of the historical perspective for social thinking in health: the contributions of Madel Luz and Emerson Merhy

Abstract This article examines the work of two authors who represent academic production on collective health from 1970 to 1980: Madel Luz and Emerson Merhy. Their theoretical production was based on Marxist studies and Michel Foucault, and centered on history. The object of this analysis was this particular aspect, which became important to the field of collective health, since the authors broke with previous positivist and evolutionist thinking on health. Although Luz and Merhy reiterated the ideas and methodological approaches of their predecessors, they were part of the group that launched a critical historiography in the field of health. Studying works like these builds understanding on the relevance of historicity in the relationship between collective health, politics, learning, and practice.

摘要 本文考察了1970至1980年间群体健康（collective health）领域学术研究成果的两位代表学者——马德尔·卢兹（Madel Luz）与爱默生·梅西（Emerson Merhy）的研究工作。二人的理论研究以马克思主义研究与米歇尔·福柯（Michel Foucault）的思想为根基，核心聚焦于历史维度。本次分析的核心对象正是这一特定研究面向：由于两位学者打破了此前健康领域的实证主义与进化论思维范式，该研究面向在群体健康领域中获得了重要地位。尽管卢兹与梅西沿用了其前辈的理论观点与研究方法，但他们仍是健康领域批判性史学的开创群体之一。对这类研究成果的探析，有助于学界明晰历史性在群体健康、政治、学术研习与实践之间的关联中所具有的核心意义。