Product Description

A collection of essays by leading philosophers and scientists focusing on the debate in science between those who believe that science is above criticism and those who do not.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2386004 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Review
""After the Science Wars... presents a range of views... minus technical jargon. Contributers... write as if they were not preaching to the converted but to persons willing to hear and engage with the issues in contention... Stolzenberg's essay... shows how anger and passion have corrupted otherwise serious debates, and it demonstrates that there is far less separating the romanticist and rationalists than scientists may have thought..." After the Science Wars offers balanced, thoughtful, and illuminating insights into this cultural debate."
-Tom Bowden, "Tech Directions

From the Back Cover
The Science Wars have recently taken center stage as a popular debate not only across the academic disciplines but also in the popular media. The "War" is between scientists who believe that science and its methods are objective, and an increasing number of social scientists, historians, philosophers and others gathered under the umbrella of Science Studies. The latter group have disputed that science is impartial and in some cases whether it comes close to the truth at all.
After the Science Wars is an exciting new collection that seeks to move the debate from its stalemate to a more fruitful dialogue. The "War" was intensified by the Sokal Affair - which at first appeared to raise the status of science in relation to its critics, and now that the dust has settled has also managed to damage it. The book begins with a contribution from Sokal, explaining his motivation for writing Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity, which was later revealed as a hoax, and his conclusions from the affair. Then follows original essays by leading philosophers and scientists from a broad spectrum of views, including feminist, postcolonial and anthropological, as well as the role of science fiction. The essays all attempt to bridge the wide interdisciplinary gulfs in this discussion and move it forward.
After the Science Wars is essential reading for all those interested in the debates surrounding the status of science and its relation to society and culture.
Contributors: Alan Sokal, Philip S. Baringer, Adrian Melott, Gabriel Stolzenberg, Barry Shank, Shari Speer, Alan Thompson, Sarah Wayland, Ann Cudd, Keith M. Ashman, Ziauddin Sardar, Robert Park, David Norman Smith, Steve Fuller, James Gunn.

About the Author
Keith Ashman and Phillip Baringer are both at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kansas, USA.

Barry Shank, Department of American Studies, University of Kansas; Shari Speer, Department of Psychology, University of Kansas; David Norman Smith, Department of Sociology, University of Kansas; Alan Thompson, Riverdale, Maryland, USA; Sarah Wayland, Riverdale, Maryland, USA; Alan Sokal, Department of Physics, New York University; Steve Fuller, Department of Sociology, University of Durham; Jim Gunn, Department of English, University of Kansas; Adrian Melott, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas; Ziauddin Sardar, London, UK; Ann E.Cudd Department of Philosophy, University of Kansas; Gabriel Stolzenberg, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; Robert Park, University of Maryland, Washington DC.