Beyond the Science Wars : The Missing Discourse about Science and Society

by Segerstrale, Ullica

• ISBN13: 9780791446171
• ISBN10: 0791446174
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-07-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

Beyond the Science Wars offers a broad contextualization of the "Science Wars" -- an ongoing debate between scientists and social scientists over the nature and meaning of science -- from interdisciplinary sociological, historical, scientific, political, and cultural perspectives. Beyond providing an understanding of the conflict itself, this book presents the comments of two science and technology studies' (STS) "founding fathers" (Bernard Barber and John Ziman), a scientist's protest that STS has abandoned its original mission, a historian's view of the fluctuating social support for science, and a sociologist's analysis of the motives of "anti-antiscience warriors".

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Science and Science Studies: Enemies or Allies?	1	(40)
Ullica Segerstrale
Contextualizing the ``Science Wars''	1	(2)
The Constructivist Critique	3	(3)
1994-The Annus Horribilis and After	6	(1)
Why the Constructivist Position Bothers Scientists	7	(5)
Who Has the Right to Criticize Science? A Hidden Issue in the Science Wars	12	(2)
The Meaning of Alan Sokal's Hoax	14	(4)
Who Owns the History of Science? The Aftermath of the Sokal Hoax	18	(3)
The Science Wars Continue: Closing in on Science Studies	21	(4)
Plan of the Book	25	(3)
Bringing the Scientist Back In	28	(13)
Antiscience in Current Science and Technology Studies	41	(22)
Henry H. Bauer
Recent Developments	42	(1)
Is There Really Antagonism against Science in STS?	42	(7)
The Fact of Antiscientific Sentiment	42	(2)
Antiscientific Sentiment in Perspective	44	(2)
Incomprehension of Science	46	(1)
Hypocrisy: Preaching versus Practice	47	(2)
The Purpose of STS	49	(5)
How Did STS Come into Being?	49	(1)
My Intellectual Dissatisfaction with Current STS	50	(3)
Disciplinary Dilemmas	53	(1)
Under What Circumstances Is STS Likely to Thrive?	54	(9)
Some Patterns and Processes in the Development of a Scientific Sociology of Science: Notes from a Sixty-Year Memoir	63	(12)
Bernard Barber
Writing the History of Social Studies of Science	64	(1)
The Application of General Social System Theory	64	(1)
The Political and Ideological Response	65	(1)
The Influence of Nonsystematic Theories	66	(1)
No Theory at All: The Importance of a Striking Empirical Fact	67	(1)
The Importance of New Research Methods	68	(1)
The Weakness of ``The Strong Program''	69	(1)
The Cross-Fertilization of Sociological Specialties	70	(1)
The Cross-Fertilization of Disciplines	71	(1)
The Importance of Values and Ideologies	72	(1)
In Brief Conclusion	72	(3)
Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part I. Anatomy of Recent ``Antiscience'' Allegations	75	(26)
Ullica Segerstrale
Taking the Science Warriors Seriously	76	(2)
The Varieties of ``Antiscience''	78	(5)
Can Scientists Be Antiscience? The Link between the Science Wars and Recent Nature-Nurture Debates	83	(4)
Karl Popper's Adverse Effect on the British Science Budget: A Thesis in 1980s Britain	87	(14)
Anti-Antiscience: A Phenomenon in Search of an Explanation Part II. The Conflict about the Social Role of Science	101	(22)
Ullica Segerstrale
The Struggle about the Cultural Meaning of Science	101	(4)
``Antiscience'' as a Heuristic Device	105	(2)
The Political Meaning of Scientific Objectivity	107	(5)
The Missing Reason in the Science Wars	112	(11)
Visions of Science in the Twentieth Century	123	(12)
Valery Cholakov
Changing Views of Science	123	(1)
Science: The Endless Frontier	124	(1)
Science: A Direct Productive Force	125	(1)
The Science of Science	126	(1)
Chemistry: The Land of Opportunity	127	(2)
Science: A Dangerous Power	129	(2)
The End of Big Science	131	(1)
Redefining Science	132	(3)
Postacademic Science: Constructing Knowledge with Networks and Norms	135	(20)
John Ziman
Science as a Cultural Form	135	(1)
Academic Science	136	(1)
Elements of the Scientific Ethos	136	(2)
CUDOS Institutionalized	138	(1)
New Modes of Knowledge Production	139	(2)
Networking Intellectual Property	141	(1)
Problem Solving in Local Contexts	142	(1)
Incorporating Interests into Knowledge	143	(1)
Who Sets the Problem?	144	(1)
What Counts as Excellence?	145	(1)
From Specialized Knowledge to Expertise	146	(1)
Where Do the Pipers Collect Their Paychecks?	146	(1)
Postindustrial Science	147	(2)
Postmodern Knowledge	149	(1)
Epistemic Features of Mode 2	150	(2)
What Price Objectivity?	152	(3)
A Social Theory of Objectivity	155	(30)
Stephan Fuchs
The Many Meanings of Objectivity	155	(3)
Objectivity as Rhetoric	158	(1)
Objectivity as Power	159	(2)
The Standpoint Paradox	161	(2)
Some Empirical Difficulties with the Critical Theory	163	(2)
Objectivity and Social Status	165	(1)
Some Suggestions for a New Objectivity	166	(3)
Objectivity as Medium	169	(3)
The Binding Effects of Objectivity	172	(2)
Trusting	174	(2)
Some Possible Objections	176	(1)
Conclusion	177	(8)
Science Studies through the Looking Glass: An Intellectual Itinerary	185	(34)
Steve Fuller
The Science Wars: A Conflict Waiting to Happen	186	(1)
The Prehistory of the Science Wars	186	(5)
STS's Induction into the ``Academic Left'' (and My Induction into STS)	191	(6)
The Battle of Britain	197	(4)
The Sokal Hoax	201	(5)
What Should Have Been Done? What Can Be Done?	206	(13)
Contributors	219	(2)
Index	221