Elizabeth Roberts God's Laboratory Summary

In God’s Laboratory, anthropologist Elizabeth Roberts shows how the Ecuadorian community fits science within its established cultural framework as well as how science can be used as a tool to shape a culture. Ecuador’s culture is shown to be impacted by three major factors: the Catholic church, the state, and science. Those factors were reconstructed when the region was colonized back in the 16th century, forcing the people of the Andes to find ways to fit science within their established ethical and social ideals. After science finds a place in the culture, technology can be used achieve certain social goals as exemplified in the current use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Ecuador. The ethnographic report delivered by Roberts can further one’s understanding of both the cultural influences on and the cultural influences of science in a community.
Ethics are principles that govern individuals’ and groups’ behavior. For a practice to be more easily accepted in a community, it should fit

A similar phenomenon was explained in Emily Martin’s The Egg and the Sperm. She discusses how “Western science” explains reproduction in a culturally constructed fashion. The language used to describe gametes and other sexual organs ultimately depicts sperm as “active” and “strong” in contrast to the egg being “passive” and “dormant” (Martin 489-450). The language used by scientists to describe reproductive organs is not chosen to satisfy religious beliefs, but analogously the language represents stereotypical male-female roles. Both cases show how “biology itself is shaped by historical and material processes” (Roberts 115). Cultural influences ranging from group ethics, religious beliefs, laws, and gendered roles factor into how science is portrayed in a community, and language is a tool that allows for the society to fit scientific practices and technology within the