Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewTo quote Hegel, "We learn from history that we do not learn from history." In this short collection of essays, Krieger (Univ. of Rhode Island) attempts to redress this issue within the history and philosophy of science (HPS). The first half of the work contains essays that bring new ideas to traditional fields of study in HPS such as the much-researched history of medicine. The second half includes essays that attempt to invoke new ways of conceptualizing HPS....What is accomplished is a new voice provided within a field that has recently been characterized by either vitriol (in the case of the science wars) or recycling (in the case of much recent writing therein). Krieger manages to breathe some new life into the field, which bodes well for the next generation of scholarship in this discipline. The essays in both sections are consistently well written and interesting, and will likely appeal to both interested laypersons and scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers. * CHOICE *
This is a highly innovative collection, attempting in a successful way to show the greater dimensions of science and medicine, illustrating through historical case studies and philosophical analysis the underlying metaphysical and cultural depths that lie under the surface of so much straight science. There are few who would not learn from this, from scholar to student. I recommend it strongly. -- Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University
The interesting essays in this book, mostly written by younger philosophers of science, cover a wide terrain that tends to be under-explored in the literature of the philosophy of science. Some of them are strikingly innovative and original as they draw novel lessons from the history of science, or deal with questions about the relations of science with values or with religion. Together, they show that the future of philosophy of science is in good hands. -- Hugh Lacey, Swarthmore College / Universidade de São Paulo
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction. Defining Frontiers in the History and Philosophy of Science Part 2 Section One. Actually Learning From History Chapter 3 Chapter One. Rhetoric and Faith in the Hippocratic Philosophy of Medicine Chapter 4 Chapter Two. The wisdom in wood rot: Finding God in early-modern scientific explanation Chapter 5 Chapter Three. In Defense of "Rationalist" Science Chapter 6 Chapter Four. Lost Science, Deepwater Shipwrecks, and the Wheelbarrow of Archimedes Chapter 7 Chapter Five. Removing the 'Grand' from Grand Unified Theories: An Archaeological Case for Epistemological and Methodological Disunity Chapter 8 Chapter Six. The Virus As Metaphor In American Popular Culture, 1967-2010 Chapter 9 Chapter Seven. Gender, Germs, and Dirt Part 10 Section Two. The Other Side(s) of Science Chapter 11 Chapter Eight. The Agnostic Scientist: The Supernatural and the open-ended nature of science Chapter 12 Chapter Nine. Participating in a contentious natural resource debate as a scientist: For better or for worse Chapter 13 Chapter Ten. Conflicting Values in Post-publication Disputes: The Case of Transgenic DNA in Mexican Maize Chapter 14 Chapter Eleven. On Scientific Advocacy: Putting Values and Interests in Their Place Chapter 15 Chapter Twelve. Bias, Impartiality, and Conflicts of Interest in Biomedical Sciences Chapter 16 Chapter Thirteen. Science, Religion, and Duty in Parenting Choices Part 17 Bibliography Part 18 Index Part 19 About the Contributors
