Description
Book SynopsisThis unique collection examines the acting person as an important unit of analysis for science studies, using an integrative approach of in-depth case studies to explore the cognitive, social, cultural, and personal dimensions of a series of key figures in the sciences, from Goethe to Kepler to Rachel Carson.
Opening up key questions about what science is, and what comprises a scientist, the volume offers an accessible introductory approach to psychology of science, a growing area in Science and Technology Studies (STS). Case studies focus on the psychological contexts of the contributions for which the scientist is known. Without diminishing its epistemic authority, science is presented as a psychologically saturated human activity, one that is especially illustrative of the way social, cognitive, and personal processes intermingle to both facilitate and impede scientific accomplishment. Each case study ends with a set of discussion questions, providing a valuable resource fo
Trade Review
"Person-Centered Studies in Psychology of Science maintains that various psychological features of individual scientists are indispensable for a thoroughgoing understanding of science itself. 'Case studies' of prominent historically-and-disciplinarily diverse scientists vividly illustrate this indisputable-yet-overlooked fact. Taken as a whole, the book provides a missing link in contemporary science studies: How appreciating the personal, cognitive, and social dimensions of scientists themselves sheds new light on their well-known contributions to knowledge about the world and ourselves. Students and educators will find much to discuss in these pages, written by authors who focus their psychological lenses on the workings of science at the level of scientists themselves."
Barbara S. Held, Barry Wish Professor of Psychology and Social Studies Emerita, Bowdoin College, USA
"In this fascinating, provocative set of explorations of the lives of particular scientists, the authors shed new light on the psychology of science and on the nature of science itself."
Alan Tjeltveit, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Muhlenberg College, USA
"I recommend this gem of a book to a very broad audience. More than pedagogical, it is a ground-breaking contribution to the psychology of science and to qualitative, person-centered psychology. A welcome addition to undergraduate and graduate curricula that will attract and edify students at all levels, this fascinating collection will also interest the lay public. Its engaging style and substance will be enjoyed by readers as their understanding of both science and psychology are challenged and enhanced."
Frederick J. Wertz, Professor Emeritus, Fordham University, USA
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Person-centered Studies in Psychology of Science 1. Johannes Kepler – A Pragmaticist Priest of God at the Book of Nature 2. Goethe: A Person of Science 3. The Process of Mendeleev’s Discovery: A Multidimensional, Relational Perspective 4. Henri Poincaré: The Poet of Mathematics and Physics 5. When the Mind Cannot be Trusted: The Lonely Genius of John Nash Jr. 6. An Interpretation of Franz Boas’ Contributions to Anthropology and Scientific Anti-Racism: Merging a Psychology of Science with Anthropology and Feminist Theory to Discuss the Human Influence in Science 7. Rachel Carson: A Scientist of Life Itself 8. Science in the Mists: Dian Fossey 9. Commentary
