A house built on sand : exposing postmodernist myths about science / edited by Noretta Koertge.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Koertge, Noretta.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science.

Science--Social aspects.

Science and state.

Research--Philosophy.

Research.

Technology and state.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 322 pages) : illustrations

Other Title:

Exposing postmodernist myths about science

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.

Summary:

"Many at work in the field of cultural studies argue that "science is politics by other means," insisting that scientific inquiry is profoundly shaped by ideological concerns. They base their claims on historical case studies purporting to show the systematic intrusion of sexist, racist, capitalist, colonialist, and/or professional interests into the very content of science. Not long ago physicist Alan Sokal poked fun at these claims by foisting a sly parody on the unwitting editors of the cultural studies journal Social Text, touching off a remarkable torrent of editorials, articles, and heated classroom and Internet discussion." "A House Built on Sand picks up where Sokal left off. In a joint effort between scholars from the "two cultures" of science and the humanities, this volume offers devastating criticism of case studies intended to demonstrate that scientific results tell us more about social context than they do about the natural world." "The volume concludes by detailing the negative effects of cultural studies myths on education, science journalism, and public policy. Technology scholar Meera Nanda traces the reactionary impact of postcolonial theory on the politics of development in India. Noretta Koertge, a philosopher of science and the volume's editor, reveals how efforts to improve science literacy in the United States are being subverted by uncritical acceptance of postmodernist accounts of science."--Jacket

Contents:

Scrutinizing science studies / Noretta Koertge

What the social text affair does and does not prove / Alan D. Sokal

What the Sokal hoax ought to teach us / Paul A. Boghossian

Plea for science studies / Philip Kitcher

Bashful eggs, macho sperm, and Tonypandy / Paul R. Gross

Engineer dissects two case studies: Hayles on fluid mechanics, and MacKenzie on statistics / Philip A. Sullivan

Evidence-free forensics and enemies of objectivity / Paul R. Gross

Is Darwinism sexist? (And if it is, so what?) / Michael Ruse

When experiments fail: is "cold fusion" science as normal? / William J. McKinney

Avoiding the experimenters' regress / Allan Franklin

Latour's relativity / John Huth

In defense of Bacon

Alchemy, domination, and gender / William R. Newman

What's wrong with the strong programme's case study of the "Hobbes-Boyle" dispute / Cassandra L. Pinnick

Postmodernisms and the problem of scientific literacy / Noretta Koertge

End of science, the central dogma of science studies, Monsieur Jordain, and Uncle Vanya / Norman Levitt

Epistemic charity of the social constructivist critics of science and why the third world should refuse the offer / Meera Nanda.

Notes:

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-19-978599-6

0-19-511726-3

9786610529629

0-19-511725-5

1-60256-238-5

1-280-52962-8

0-19-802776-1

OCLC:

1014378309