Cultural boundaries of science : credibility on the line / Thomas F. Gieryn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gieryn, Thomas F.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Social aspects.

Science.

Science--Philosophy.

Science--Cross-cultural studies.

Cross-cultural studies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 398 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [1999]

Summary:

Why is science so credible? Usual answers center on scientists' objective methods or their powerful instruments. In his new book, Thomas Gieryn argues that a better explanation for the' cultural authority of science lies downstream, when scientific claims leave laboratories and enter courtrooms, boardrooms, and living rooms. On such occasions, we use "maps" to decide who to believe -- cultural maps demarcating "science" from pseudoscience, ideology, faith, or nonsense.

Gieryn looks at episodes of boundary-work: Was phrenology good science? How about cold fusion? Is social science really scientific? Is organic farming? After centuries of disputes like these, Gieryn finds no stable criteria that absolutely distinguish science from non-science. Science remains a pliable cultural space, flexibly reshaped to claim credibility for-some beliefs while denying it to others. In a timely epilogue, Gieryn finds this same controversy at the heart of the raging science wars".

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 363-381) and index.

ISBN:

0226292614

0226292622

OCLC:

39108606