Beyond the Science Wars
The Missing Discourse about Science and Society
Published on 3. August 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-0-7914-4618-8 (ISBN)
Description
Contextualizes the "Science Wars" from interdisciplinary sociological, historical, scientific, political, and cultural perspectives.
Beyond the Science Wars offers a broad contextualization of the "Science Wars"-an ongoing debate between scientists and social scientists over the nature and meaning of science-from interdisciplinary sociological, historical, scientific, political, and cultural perspectives. Beyond providing an understanding of the conflict itself, this book presents the comments of two science and technology studies' (STS) "founding fathers" (Bernard Barber and John Ziman), a scientist's protest that STS has abandoned its original mission, a historian's view of the fluctuating social support for science, and a sociologist's analysis of the motives of "anti-antiscience warriors." In addition, an STS statesman discusses ongoing structural changes in science, a sociologist sorts out different views of objectivity, and an STS veteran from the Science Wars brings us tales from the front and evaluates the meaning of recent events.
Contributors include Bernard Barber, Henry H. Bauer, Valery Cholakov, Stephan Fuchs, Steve Fuller, Ullica Segerstrale, and John Ziman.
Beyond the Science Wars offers a broad contextualization of the "Science Wars"-an ongoing debate between scientists and social scientists over the nature and meaning of science-from interdisciplinary sociological, historical, scientific, political, and cultural perspectives. Beyond providing an understanding of the conflict itself, this book presents the comments of two science and technology studies' (STS) "founding fathers" (Bernard Barber and John Ziman), a scientist's protest that STS has abandoned its original mission, a historian's view of the fluctuating social support for science, and a sociologist's analysis of the motives of "anti-antiscience warriors." In addition, an STS statesman discusses ongoing structural changes in science, a sociologist sorts out different views of objectivity, and an STS veteran from the Science Wars brings us tales from the front and evaluates the meaning of recent events.
Contributors include Bernard Barber, Henry H. Bauer, Valery Cholakov, Stephan Fuchs, Steve Fuller, Ullica Segerstrale, and John Ziman.
Reviews / Votes
"Beyond the Science Wars provides an excellent, up-to-date, and scholarly analysis of the historical context and recent debates about science and 'antiscience.'" - Choice"This book proposes to offer 'a broad contextualization of the "science wars"-an ongoing debate between scientists and social scientists over the nature and meaning of science,' and it largely succeeds in this effort. It provides a helpful and perceptive clarification of the intellectual struggle between certain practitioners of STS (Science and Technology Studies) and some self-appointed spokespersons for science ... invaluable in helping readers understand and sort out the arguments offered by science warriors of every persuasion ... current and timely ... Its editor and authors bring to their task impressive learning as well as deep historical and broad social perspectives ... its unpolemical characterization, contextualization and analysis of the science wars will serve as an effective and useful contribution to our understanding of this intellectual engagement." - Contemporary Sociology
"Readers interested in the science wars and its fallout should find much of this book illuminating." - The Quarterly Review of Biology
"Any scientist interested in establishing a more constructive dialogue with the science and technology studies community would be well-advised to read th[is] work." - Physics Today
"I really enjoyed reading this book, both for its insights into the 'Science Wars' and clarification of the issues (and the false issues or straw men) and for its perspectives on the history and context and motivations of this debate. It clarifies what is really at stake philosophically, politically, and sociologically, as well as the rhetorical strategies of the various participants and their efforts." - William E. Evenson, Brigham Young University
"This book is like a breath of fresh air in a room heated to suffocation by rancorous but irrelevant debate. All of the articles are fair and balanced and provide perspectives that are usually missing." - Marjorie Senechal, editor of The Cultures of Science
"Since this controversy has attracted widespread, recurring media attention that has been taken to be symptomatic of a broader trend in academia, a volume such as this one, analyzing debate from a moderate critical perspective, could attract broader interest." - Henry Etzkowitz, coeditor of Capitalizing Knowledge: New Intersections of Industry and Academia
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
412 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-4618-8 (9780791446188)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ullica Segerstrale is Professor of Sociology at Illinois Institute of Technology and the author of Defenders of the Truth: The Battle for Science in the Sociobiology Debate and Beyond.
Content
Preface
1. Science and Science Studies: Enemies or Allies?
Ullica Segerstrale
Contextualizing the "Science Wars"
The Constructivist Critique
1994-The Annus Horribilis and After
Why the Constructivist Position Bothers Scientists
Who has the right to criticize science? A Hidden Issue in the Science Wars
The Meaning of Alan Sokal's Hoax
Who owns the history of science? The Aftermath of the Sokal Hoax
The Science Wars Continue: Closing in on Science Studies
Plan of the Book
Bringing the Scientist Back In
2. Antiscience in Current Science and Technology Studies
Henry H. Bauer
Recent Developments
Is there really antagonism against science in STS?
The Fact of Antiscientific Sentiment
Antiscientific Sentiment in Perspective
Incomprehension of Science
Hypocrisy: Preaching Versus Practice
The Purpose of STS
How did STS come into being?
My Intellectual Dissatisfaction with Current STS
Disciplinary Dilemmas
Under what circumstances is STS likely to thrive?
3. Some Patterns and Processes in the Development of a Scientific Sociology of Science: Notes from a Sixty-Year Memoir
Bernard Barber
Writing the History of Social Studies of Science
The Application of General Social System Theory
The Political and Ideological Response
The Influence of Nonsystematic Theories
No Theory at All: The Importance of a Striking Empirical Fact
The Importance of New Research Methods
The Weakness of "The Strong Program"
The Cross-Fertilization of Sociological Specialties
The Cross-Fertilization of Disciplines
The Importance of Values and Ideologies
In Brief Conclusion
4. Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part I. Anatomy of Recent "Antiscience" Allegations
Ullica Segerstrale
Taking the Science Warriors Seriously
The Varieties of "Antiscience"
Can scientists be antiscience? The Link between the Science Wars and Recent Nature-Nurture Debates
Karl Popper's Adverse Effect on the British Science Budget: A Thesis in 1980s Britain
5. Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part II. The Conflict about the Social Role of Science
Ullica Segerstrale
The Struggle about the Cultural Meaning of Science
"Antiscience" As a Heuristic Device
The Political Meaning of Scientific Objectivity
The Missing Reason in the Science Wars
6. Visions of Science in the Twentieth Century
Valery Cholakov
Changing Views of Science
Science: The Endless Frontier
Science: A Direct Productive Force
The Science of Science
Chemistry: The Land of Opportunity
Science: A Dangerous Power
The End of Big Science
Redefining Science
7. Postacademic Science: Constructing Knowledge with Networks and Norms
John Ziman
Science As a Cultural Form
Academic Science
Elements of the Scientific Ethos
CUDOS Institutionalized
New Modes of Knowledge Production
Networking Intellectual Property
Problem Solving in Local Contexts
Incorporating Interests into Knowledge
Who sets the problem?
What counts as excellence?
From Specialized Knowledge to Expertise
Where do the pipers collect their paychecks?
Postindustrial Science
Postmodern Knowledge
Epistemic Features of Mode 2
What Price Objectivity?
8. A Social Theory of Objectivity
Stephan Fuchs
The Many Meanings of Objectivity
Objectivity As Rhetoric
Objectivity As Power
The Standpoint Paradox
Some Empirical Difficulties with the Critical Theory
Objectivity and Social Status
Some Suggestions for a New Objectivity
Objectivity As Medium
The Binding Effects of Objectivity
Trusting
Some Possible Objections
Conclusion
9. Science Studies through the Looking Glass: An Intellectual Itinerary
Steve Fuller
The Science Wars: A Conflict Waiting to Happen
The Prehistory of the Science Wars
STS's Induction into the "Academic Left" (And My Induction into STS)
The Battle of Britain
The Sokal Hoax
What should have been done? What can be done?
Contributors
Index
1. Science and Science Studies: Enemies or Allies?
Ullica Segerstrale
Contextualizing the "Science Wars"
The Constructivist Critique
1994-The Annus Horribilis and After
Why the Constructivist Position Bothers Scientists
Who has the right to criticize science? A Hidden Issue in the Science Wars
The Meaning of Alan Sokal's Hoax
Who owns the history of science? The Aftermath of the Sokal Hoax
The Science Wars Continue: Closing in on Science Studies
Plan of the Book
Bringing the Scientist Back In
2. Antiscience in Current Science and Technology Studies
Henry H. Bauer
Recent Developments
Is there really antagonism against science in STS?
The Fact of Antiscientific Sentiment
Antiscientific Sentiment in Perspective
Incomprehension of Science
Hypocrisy: Preaching Versus Practice
The Purpose of STS
How did STS come into being?
My Intellectual Dissatisfaction with Current STS
Disciplinary Dilemmas
Under what circumstances is STS likely to thrive?
3. Some Patterns and Processes in the Development of a Scientific Sociology of Science: Notes from a Sixty-Year Memoir
Bernard Barber
Writing the History of Social Studies of Science
The Application of General Social System Theory
The Political and Ideological Response
The Influence of Nonsystematic Theories
No Theory at All: The Importance of a Striking Empirical Fact
The Importance of New Research Methods
The Weakness of "The Strong Program"
The Cross-Fertilization of Sociological Specialties
The Cross-Fertilization of Disciplines
The Importance of Values and Ideologies
In Brief Conclusion
4. Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part I. Anatomy of Recent "Antiscience" Allegations
Ullica Segerstrale
Taking the Science Warriors Seriously
The Varieties of "Antiscience"
Can scientists be antiscience? The Link between the Science Wars and Recent Nature-Nurture Debates
Karl Popper's Adverse Effect on the British Science Budget: A Thesis in 1980s Britain
5. Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part II. The Conflict about the Social Role of Science
Ullica Segerstrale
The Struggle about the Cultural Meaning of Science
"Antiscience" As a Heuristic Device
The Political Meaning of Scientific Objectivity
The Missing Reason in the Science Wars
6. Visions of Science in the Twentieth Century
Valery Cholakov
Changing Views of Science
Science: The Endless Frontier
Science: A Direct Productive Force
The Science of Science
Chemistry: The Land of Opportunity
Science: A Dangerous Power
The End of Big Science
Redefining Science
7. Postacademic Science: Constructing Knowledge with Networks and Norms
John Ziman
Science As a Cultural Form
Academic Science
Elements of the Scientific Ethos
CUDOS Institutionalized
New Modes of Knowledge Production
Networking Intellectual Property
Problem Solving in Local Contexts
Incorporating Interests into Knowledge
Who sets the problem?
What counts as excellence?
From Specialized Knowledge to Expertise
Where do the pipers collect their paychecks?
Postindustrial Science
Postmodern Knowledge
Epistemic Features of Mode 2
What Price Objectivity?
8. A Social Theory of Objectivity
Stephan Fuchs
The Many Meanings of Objectivity
Objectivity As Rhetoric
Objectivity As Power
The Standpoint Paradox
Some Empirical Difficulties with the Critical Theory
Objectivity and Social Status
Some Suggestions for a New Objectivity
Objectivity As Medium
The Binding Effects of Objectivity
Trusting
Some Possible Objections
Conclusion
9. Science Studies through the Looking Glass: An Intellectual Itinerary
Steve Fuller
The Science Wars: A Conflict Waiting to Happen
The Prehistory of the Science Wars
STS's Induction into the "Academic Left" (And My Induction into STS)
The Battle of Britain
The Sokal Hoax
What should have been done? What can be done?
Contributors
Index