Uncertainty : how it makes science advance / Kostas Kampourakis and Kevin McCain.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kampourakis, Kostas, author.

McCain, Kevin, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Philosophy.

Science.

Science--Methodology.

Uncertainty.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

How it makes science advance

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Oxford University Press, [2020]

Summary:

"Scientific knowledge is the most solid and robust kind of knowledge that humans have because of the self-correcting character inherent in its own processes. Nevertheless, anti-evolutionists, climate denialists, and anti-vaxxers, among others, question some of the best-established scientific findings, making claims that are unsupported by empirical evidence. A common aspect of these claims is the reference to the uncertainties in these domains, which leads to the conclusion that science is uncertain about evolution, climate change, vaccination, and so on. However, this is inaccurate. The truth of the matter is that whereas the broad picture is clear, there exist - and will always exist - uncertainties about the details of the respective phenomena. In this book we show that uncertainty is an inherent feature of science that does not devalue it. In contrast, uncertainty actually makes science advance because it motivates further research. This is the first book on this topic that draws on philosophy of science to explain what uncertainty in science is and how it makes science advance. It contrasts evolution, climate change, and vaccination, where the uncertainties are exaggerated, and genetic testing and forensic science where the uncertainties are usually overlooked. The goal is to discuss the scientific, psychological, and philosophical aspects of uncertainty in order to explain what it really is, what kind of problems it actually poses, and why in the end it makes science advance. Contrary to public representations of scientific findings and conclusions that produce an intuitive, but distorted, view of science as certain, people need to understand and learn to live with uncertainty in science"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Uncertainty

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Preface

PART I Dealing with Uncertainty

1 Uncertainty in Everyday Life

2 The Psychology of (Un)Certainty

3 Uncertainty in Science: Isn't It a Problem?

4 In Science We Trust-​Or Don't We?

5 Is Scientific Rigor Declining?

PART II Uncertainties in Science:

6 Uncertainties in Climate Science

7 Uncertainties in Vaccination

8 Uncertainties in Human Evolution

9 Uncertainties in Genetic Testing

10 Uncertainties in Forensic Science

PART III Accepting Uncertainty in Science

11 Uncertainty Is Inherent in Science

12 Uncertainty in Scientific Explanations

13 Uncertainty in Scientific Predictions

14 Understanding Versus Being Certain

15 How Uncertainty Makes Science Advance

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780190871697

0190871695

9780190871673

0190871679

9780190871680

0190871687

OCLC:

1122455732