Description
Book SynopsisWicked Philosophy. Philosophy of Science and Vision Development for Complex Problems provides an overview of the philosophy of the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities, and explores how insights from these three domains can be integrated to help find solutions for the complex, ‘wicked’ problems we are currently facing.
The core of a new science-based vision is complexity thinking, offering a meta-position for navigating alternative paradigms and making informed choices of resources for projects involving complex problems. The book also brings design thinking into problem-solving and teaching, fostering construction of an integrative approach that bridges structure and action amplified by transdisciplinary engagement of stakeholders in society.
It is not always easy to set up a succesfull philosophy course for students in other programs. The author of
Wicked Philosophy, Coyan Tromp, has experience in designing courses on philosophy of science for various Bachelor programs. You can find two examples here.
The first example is for an introductory course to an Interdisciplinary Philosophy of Science, which is specifically suited for programs focusing at complex problems such as sustainability or health issues.
The second example is a program for a course on (Philosophy of) Science in a Post-Truth Society.
More examples are also available (e.g. a program in which Philosophy of Science is combined with Vision Development and Future Scenarios).
In addition to the program, the author can also provide a workbook with lesson plans, both for online and on campus settings as well as additional literature suggestions for Dutch and French programmes.
Please contact us at marketing@aup.nl for questions or extra material.
Trade Review‘Practitioners, teachers, and students across the entire range of sciences and humanities will benefit from Tromp’s comparison of traditional and newer paradigms, models, and approaches. She identifies their underlying assumptions, weighing their strengths and weaknesses for grappling with challenges such as the primary case of sustainable food systems. The book is anchored throughout by explanations of key tools, definitions of key concepts, and guiding questions for reflection and discussion.’ Julie Thompson Klein, Professor of Humanities Emerita in the English Department, Wayne State University (USA) and Affiliate of TdLaB at ETH-Zurich
‘A wide-ranging synthesis of ideas leading to a persuasive philosophy of transdisciplinary studies, one from which interdisciplinarians can glean much of value.’ William Newell, Professor Emeritus Interdisciplinary Studies, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (USA)
Table of ContentsPreface
1. Twenty-First-Century Science
1.1 ‘Wicked’ Problems: The Great Challenges of Our Times
1.2 The State of Modern Science
1.3 The Inevitability of Philosophy
1.4 Future Avenues
2 Contemporary Approaches
2.1 The Traditional Standard Research Model
2.2 Interpretivism as an Alternative Paradigm
2.3 Current Models and Future Thinking
2.4 Unity in Diversity
3 Structure and Action in Science
3.1 Objective Structures or Subjective Perspectives?
3.2 A Clash of Approaches?
3.3 Beyond the Oppositions
3.4 Towards a More Dynamic View of Science
4 Science as a Rational Process
4.1 The ‘Project of Reason’
4.2 Unintended and Unwanted Consequences of the Rationality Process
4.3 The Societal Value of Science
4.4 Does Knowledge Also Imply Wisdom?
4.5 From Funnel Rationality to a More Comprehensive Rationality
5 Robust Knowledge for Complex Problems
5.1 Towards a Complexity-Based, Integrated Research Approach
5.2 Science in Progress
5.3 Quality Criteria for Research into Complex Issues
5.4 Dealing with Complexity
6 The Future of Science
6.1 Science and Futures Thinking
6.2 Vision-Based Science and Science-Based Visions
6.3 From Funnel Vision to Comprehensive Science
References
Glossary and Index
Colophon
