Description
Book SynopsisThis book, originally published in 1976, documents the idiosyncracies and foibles of the scientific process as a field of endeavour. A new introduction updates such aspects of academia as politics and tenure, publication and power relations, science studies and constructivist inquiry, and what have come to be called the science wars.
Trade Review"Michael Mahoney has practiced science from within the major paradigms and has also stood outside and critiqued each in turn, not as caricatures but as valiant (if fallible) attempts to make sense of our experience." N. McK. Agnew, York University "A radical, thought-provoking exploration of the experience of being a scientist. After twenty-five years, it maintains its lively topicality and suggests new questions relevant to scientific methodologies." Giampiero Arciero, University of Siena "This important book challenges many myths of science and its practitioners. Mahoney's absorbing new introduction offers a clear picture of our social responsibility in the manufacture and use of knowledge. Erudite and informative, yet also witty and entertaining." Sophie Freud, Simmons College "One of the great psychologies of science. Mahoney deconstructs the many myths that are cracking the very foundations of scientific knowledge." Andre Marquis, Northeastern State University
Table of ContentsIntroduction to the Percheron Press Edition Chapter 1. Illusions and Idols Chapter 2. The Science Game: An Overview Chapter 3. Rites of Passage: Selected Absurdities in Graduate Training Chapter 4. Rules of the Game: Politics and Prizes Chapter 5. Publication: The Endless Quest Chapter 6. Passions of the Scientist Chapter 7. The Rationality of Science Chapter 8. Reason and Research: The Truth Conspiracy Chapter 9. Postscript Appendixes References Index
