Thomas Kuhn and the Science Wars
Ziauddin Sardar(Author)
Icon Books (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 1. May 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-84046-136-7 (ISBN)
Description
Not so long ago, we believed that science was a neutral, value-free quest for Truth. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962), Thomas Kuhn opened science to scrutiny as a "social" activity. He reduced science to puzzle-solving within belief systems, suggesting that "normal" science was nothing more than dogmatic stability punctuated by occasional revolutions. Sociologists of science went even further, arguing that scientists just "negotiate" their agreements rather than being constrained by mythical "facts". About a decade ago, the "Science Wars" began with counter-attacks from scientists on the sociologists. "Thomas Kuhn and the Science Wars" shows how science has become a major contested cultural symbol, and suggests that we need a postmodern synthesis in which the old debates are transcended. Science is not about demonstrations by experts, but dialogue among stakeholders. This is the new face of science, one which gives Kuhn's seminal insights new life.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Duxford
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 178 mm
Width: 111 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Weight
70 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84046-136-7 (9781840461367)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ziauddin Sardar is a writer and Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the City University, London. His most recent books are Introducing Chaos and Introducing Mathematics, both published by Icon/Totem. He writes a science column for the New Statesman.