Science In A Free Society

Author : Paul Feyerabend
Publisher : Verso Books
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2017-11-10
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781788731928

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Science in a Free Society by Paul Feyerabend Pdf

No study in the philosophy of science created such controversy in the seventies as Paul Feyerabend's Against Method. In this work, Feyerabend reviews that controversy, and extends his critique beyond the problem of scientific rules and methods, to the social function and direction of science today. In the first part of the book, he launches a sustained and irreverent attack on the prestige of science in the West. The lofty authority of the "expert" claimed by scientists is, he argues, incompatible with any genuine democracy, and often merely serves to conceal entrenched prejudices and divided opinions with the scientific community itself. Feyerabend insists that these can and should be subjected to the arbitration of the lay population, whose closes interests they constantly affect-as struggles over atomic energy programs so powerfully attest. Calling for far greater diversity in the content of education to facilitate democratic decisions over such issues, Feyerabend recounts the origin and development of his own ideas-successively engaged by Brecht, Ehrenhaft, Popper, Mill and Lakatos-in a spirited intellectual self-portrait. Science in a Free Society is a striking intervention into one of the most topical debates in contemporary culture and politics.

Author : Paul Karl Feyerabend
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 221 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Science
ISBN : OCLC:1281734000

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Science in a free society by Paul Karl Feyerabend Pdf

Author : H. J. Blackham
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2013-04-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135026103

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Political Discipline in a Free Society by H. J. Blackham Pdf

This book traces the rise and fall of political philosophies since the 17th century. The second part of the book shows how the general technique of cumulative learning from experience applies to social legislation and social services, party politics to defence strategy and to the trends that follow the modern explosion of knowledge and capital. The main argument is that social control is at its best a deliberate joint creation of and learning from social experience; and in this sense political discipline although not the same as logical or scientific discipline is like them a submission to form, not force. The book gives a definite meaning to the idea of human progress and finds reason for a restoration of political hope and faith.

Author : Lesley Cormack,Andrew Ede
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 842 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2012-03-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781442604483

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A History of Science in Society by Lesley Cormack,Andrew Ede Pdf

A History of Science in Society is a concise overview that introduces complex ideas in a non-technical fashion. Andrew Ede and Lesley B. Cormack trace the history of science through its continually changing place in society and explore the link between the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to make that knowledge useful. In this edition, the authors examine the robust intellectual exchange between East and West and provide new discussions of two women in science: Maria Merian and Maria Winkelmann. A chapter on the relationship between science and war has been added as well as a section on climate change. The further readings section has been updated to reflect recent contributions to the field. Other new features include timelines at the end of each chapter, 70 upgraded illustrations, and new maps of Renaissance Europe, Captain James Cook's voyages, the 2nd voyage of the Beagle, and the main war front during World War I.

Author : Michael Polanyi
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 98 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2013-01-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780226163444

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Science, Faith and Society by Michael Polanyi Pdf

In its concern with science as an essentially human enterprise, Science, Faith and Society makes an original and challenging contribution to the philosophy of science. On its appearance in 1946 the book quickly became the focus of controversy. Polanyi aims to show that science must be understood as a community of inquirers held together by a common faith; science, he argues, is not the use of "scientific method" but rather consists in a discipline imposed by scientists on themselves in the interests of discovering an objective, impersonal truth. That such truth exists and can be found is part of the scientists' faith. Polanyi maintains that both authoritarianism and scepticism, attacking this faith, are attacking science itself.

Author : John Scales Avery
Publisher : World Scientific
Page : 444 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2016-09-14
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789813147737

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Science and Society by John Scales Avery Pdf

The latest advances and discoveries in science have made, and continue to make, a huge impact on our lives. This book is a history of the social impact of science and technology from the beginnings of civilization up to the present. The book explains how the key inventions: agriculture, writing and printing with movable type, initiated an explosive growth of knowledge and human power over the environment. It also shows how the Industrial Revolution changed the relationship between humans and nature, and initiated a massive use of fossil fuels. Problems related to nuclear power, nuclear weapons, genetic engineering, information technology, exhaustion of non-renewable resources, use of fossil fuels and climate change are examined in the later chapters of the book. Finally, the need for ethical maturity to match our scientific progress is discussed.

Author : Gonzalo Munévar
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 544 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401131889

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Beyond Reason by Gonzalo Munévar Pdf

Some philosophers think that Paul Feyerabend is a clown, a great many others think that he is one of the most exciting philosophers of science of this century. For me the truth does not lie somewhere in between, for I am decidedly of the second opinion, an opinion that is becoming general around the world as this century comes to an end and history begins to cast its appraising eye upon the intellectual harvest of our era. A good example of this opinion may be found in the admiration for Feyerabend's philosophy of science expressed by Grover Maxwell in his contribution to this volume. Maxwell, recalling his own intellectual transformation, says also that it was Feyerabend who "confirmed my then incipient suspicions that most of the foundations of currently fashionable philosophy and even a great deal of the methodology to which many scientists pay enthusiastic lip service are based on simple mistake- assumptions whose absurdity becomes obvious once attention is directed at them". And lest the reader thinks, as many still do, that however sharp Feyerabend's attacks upon the philosophical establishment may have been, he does not offer a positive philosophy (a complain made by C.A. Hooker and some of the other contributors), Paul Churchland argues otherwise.

Author : Philip Kitcher
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2011-09-20
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781616144081

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Science in a Democratic Society by Philip Kitcher Pdf

In this successor to his pioneering Science, Truth, and Democracy, the author revisits the topic explored in his previous work—namely, the challenges of integrating science, the most successful knowledge-generating system of all time, with the problems of democracy. But in this new work, the author goes far beyond that earlier book in studying places at which the practice of science fails to answer social needs. He considers a variety of examples of pressing concern, ranging from climate change to religiously inspired constraints on biomedical research to the neglect of diseases that kill millions of children annually, analyzing the sources of trouble. He shows the fallacies of thinking that democracy always requires public debate of issues most people cannot comprehend, and argues that properly constituted expertise is essential to genuine democracy. No previous book has treated the place of science in democratic society so comprehensively and systematically, with attention to different aspects of science and to pressing problems of our times.

Author : Tim Congdon
Publisher : Encounter Books
Page : 522 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2011-11-01
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781594035449

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Money in a Free Society by Tim Congdon Pdf

In the 15 years to mid-2007 the world economy enjoyed unparalleled stability (the so-called “Great Moderation”), with steady growth and low inflation. But the period since mid-2007 (“the Great Recession”) has seen the worst macroeconomic turmoil since the 1930s. A dramatic plunge in trade, output and employment in late 2008 and 2009 has been followed by an unconvincing recovery. How is the lurch from stability to instability to be explained? What are the intellectual origins of the policy mistakes that led to the Great Recession? What theories motivated policies in the USA and other leading nations? Which ideas about economic policy have proved right? And which have been wrong? Money in a Free Society contains 18 provocative essays on these questions from Tim Congdon, an influential economic adviser to the Thatcher government in the UK and one of the world’s leading monetary commentators. Congdon argues that academic economists and policy-makers have betrayed the intellectual legacy of both Keynes and Friedman. These two great economists believed – if in somewhat different ways – in the need for steady growth in the quantity of money. But Keynes has been misunderstood as advocating big rises in public spending and large budget deficits as the only way to defeat recession. That has led under President Obama to an unsustainable explosion in American public debt. Meanwhile the Fed has ignored extreme volatility in the rate of money growth, contrary to the central message of Friedman’s analytical work. In his 1923 Tract on Monetary Reform Keynes said, “The Individualistic Capitalism of today, precisely because it entrusts saving to the individual investor and production to the individual employer, presumes a stable measuring-rod of value, and cannot be efficient--perhaps cannot survive--without one.” In Money in a Free Society Congdon calls for a return to stable money growth and sound public finances, and argues that these remain the best answers to the problems facing modern capitalism.

Author : B. Russell
Publisher : Рипол Классик
Page : 120 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1952
Category : History
ISBN : 9785885009089

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The Impact of Science on Society by B. Russell Pdf

"In this concices and luminous book ... [Russell] examines the changes in modern life brought about by science. he suggests that its work in transforming society is only just beginning"--from inside upper cover.

Author : John Preston
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 251 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2018-03-08
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780745678023

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Feyerabend by John Preston Pdf

This book is the first comprehensive critical study of the work of Paul Feyerabend, one of the foremost twentieth-century philosophers of science. The book traces the evolution of Feyerabend's thought, beginning with his early attempt to graft insights from Wittgenstein's conception of meaning onto Popper's falsificationist philosophy. The key elements of Feyerabend's model of the acquisition of knowledge are identified and critically evaluated. Feyerabend's early work emerges as a continuation of Popper's philosophy of science, rather than as a contribution to the historical approach to science with which he is usually associated. In his more notorious later work, Feyerabend claimed that there was, and should be, no such thing as the scientific method. The roots of Feyerabend's 'epistemological anarchism' are exposed and the weaknesses of his cultural relativism are brought out. Throughout the book, Preston discusses the influence of Feyerabend's thought on contemporary philosophers and traces his stimulating but divided legacy. The book will be of interest to students of philosophy, methodology, and the social sciences.

Author : Bruce J. MacFadden
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2019-10-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781108421720

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Broader Impacts of Science on Society by Bruce J. MacFadden Pdf

Invaluable guidance on how scientists can communicate the societal benefits of their work to the public and funding agencies. This will help scientists submit proposals to the US National Science Foundation and other funding agencies with a 'Broader Impacts' section, as well as helping to develop successful wider outreach activities.

Author : Anthony Walsh
Publisher : Vernon Press
Page : 354 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2020-07-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781622739554

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God, Science, and Society: The Origin of the Universe, Intelligent Life, and Free Societies by Anthony Walsh Pdf

“It may seem bizarre, but in my opinion, science offers a surer path to God than religion…science has actually advanced to the point where what were formerly religious questions can be seriously tackled” (Paul Davies, Astrophysicist). Anthony Walsh’s latest riposte to atheistic arguments against God's existence draws on Natural Theology, a knowledge of God based on evidence from both the natural and social sciences. Covering everything from the Big Bang and the origins of life to the mystery of intelligent consciousness, Walsh makes even the most technical scientific writings accessible to the general reader and tackles a question few books on the relationship between science and religion have ever sought to address: how does Christianity positively affect societies, families, and individuals in terms of democracy, justice, happiness, health, and prosperity?

Author : Michael J. Thompson,Gregory R. Smulewicz-Zucker
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 306 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781633884748

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Anti-science and the Assault on Democracy by Michael J. Thompson,Gregory R. Smulewicz-Zucker Pdf

Defending the role that science must play in democratic society--science defined not just in terms of technology but as a way of approaching problems and viewing the world. In this collection of original essays, experts in political science, the hard sciences, philosophy, history, and other disciplines examine contemporary anti-science trends, and make a strong case that respect for science is essential for a healthy democracy. The editors note that a contradiction lies at the heart of modern society. On the one hand, we inhabit a world increasingly dominated by science and technology. On the other, opposition to science is prevalent in many forms--from arguments against the teaching of evolution and the denial of climate change to the promotion of alternative medicine and outlandish claims about the effects of vaccinations. Adding to this grass-roots hostility toward science are academics espousing postmodern relativism, which equates the methods of science with regimes of "power-knowledge." While these cultural trends are sometimes marketed in the name of "democratic pluralism," the contributors contend that such views are actually destructive of a broader culture appropriate for a democratic society. This is especially true when facts are degraded as "fake news" and scientists are dismissed as elitists. Rather than enhancing the capacity for rational debate and critical discourse, the authors view such anti-science stances on either the right or the left as a return to premodern forms of subservience to authority and an unwillingness to submit beliefs to rational scrutiny. Beyond critiquing attitudes hostile to science, the essays in this collection put forward a positive vision for how we might better articulate the relation between science and democracy and the benefits that accrue from cultivating this relationship.

Author : Peter Corning
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 253 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2011-03-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780226116303

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The Fair Society by Peter Corning Pdf

We’ve been told, again and again, that life is unfair. But what if we’re wrong simply to resign ourselves to this situation? What if we have the power—and more, the duty—to change society for the better? We do. And our very nature inclines us to do so. That’s the provocative argument Peter Corning makes in The Fair Society. Drawing on the evidence from our evolutionary history and the emergent science of human nature, Corning shows that we have an innate sense of fairness. While these impulses can easily be subverted by greed and demagoguery, they can also be harnessed for good. Corning brings together the latest findings from the behavioral and biological sciences to help us understand how to move beyond the Madoffs and Enrons in our midst in order to lay the foundation for a new social contract—a Biosocial Contract built on a deep understanding of human nature and a commitment to fairness. He then proposes a sweeping set of economic and political reforms based on three principles of fairness—equality, equity, and reciprocity—that together could transform our society and our world. At this crisis point for capitalism, Corning reveals that the proper response to bank bailouts and financial chicanery isn’t to get mad—it’s to get fair.