Defending Science - within Reason
eBook - ePub

Defending Science - within Reason

Between Scientism And Cynicism

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Defending Science - within Reason

Between Scientism And Cynicism

About this book

Sweeping in scope, penetrating in analysis, and generously illustrated with examples from the history of science, this new and original approach to familiar questions about scientific evidence and method tackles vital questions about science and its place in society. Avoiding the twin pitfalls of scientism and cynicism, noted philosopher Susan Haack argues that, fallible and flawed as they are, the natural sciences have been among the most successful of human enterprises-valuable not only for the vast, interlocking body of knowledge they have discovered, and not only for the technological advances that have improved our lives, but as a manifestation of the human talent for inquiry at its imperfect but sometimes remarkable best. This wide-ranging, trenchant, and illuminating book explores the complexities of scientific evidence, and the multifarious ways in which the sciences have refined and amplified the methods of everyday empirical inquiry; articulates the ways in which the social sciences are like the natural sciences, and the ways in which they are different; disentangles the confusions of radical rhetoricians and cynical sociologists of science; exposes the evasions of apologists for religious resistance to scientific advances; weighs the benefits and the dangers of technology; tracks the efforts of the legal system to make the best use of scientific testimony; and tackles predictions of the eventual culmination, or annihilation, of the scientific enterprise. Writing with verve and wry humor, in a witty, direct, and accessible style, Haack takes readers beyond the "Science Wars" to a balanced understanding of the value, and the limitations, of the scientific enterprise.

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Yes, you can access Defending Science - within Reason by Susan Haack in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Science Research & Methodology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Prometheus
Year
2011
eBook ISBN
9781615921683
Topic
Philosophy
Subtopic
Science Research & Methodology

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Preface to the Paperback Edition
  6. Preface to the Original Edition
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Chapter 1: Neither Sacred nor a Confidence Trick: The Critical Common-Sensist Manifesto
  9. Chapter 2: Nail Soup: A Brief, Opinionated History of the Old Deferentialism
  10. Chapter 3: Clues to the Puzzle of Scientific Evidence: A More-So Story
  11. Chapter 4: The Long Arm of Common Sense: Instead of a Theory of Scientific Method
  12. Chapter 5: Realistically Speaking: How Science Fumbles, and Sometimes Forges, Ahead
  13. Chapter 6: The Same, Only Different: Integrating the Intentional
  14. Chapter 7: A Modest Proposal: The Sensible Program in Sociology of Science
  15. Chapter 8: Stronger Than Fiction: Science, Literature, and the ā€œLiterature of Scienceā€
  16. Chapter 9: Entangled in the Bramble-Bush: Science in the Law
  17. Chapter 10: Point of Honor: On Science and Religion
  18. Chapter 11: What Man Can Achieve When He Really Puts His Mind to It: The Value, and the Values, of Science
  19. Chapter 12: Not Till It's Over: Reflections on the End of Science
  20. Bibliography
  21. Index