The Meaning of Science
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A philosopher of science examines the biggest ethical and moral issues in science today, and explains why they matter for all of us -- scientist and layman alike
Science has produced explanations for everything from the mechanisms of insect navigation to the formation of black holes and the workings of black markets. But how much can we trust science, and can we actually know the world through it? How does science work and how does it fail? And how can the work of scientists help -- or hurt -- everyday people? These are not questions that science can answer on its own. This is where philosophy of science comes in. Studying science without philosophy is, to quote Einstein, to be "like somebody who has seen thousands of trees but has never seen a forest." Cambridge philosopher Tim Lewens shows us the forest. He walks us through the theories of seminal philosophers of science Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn and considers what science is, how far it can and should reach, and how we can determine the nature of its truths and myths.
These philosophical issues have consequences that stretch far beyond the laboratory. For instance: What role should scientists have in policy discussions on environmental issues such as fracking? What are the biases at play in the search for a biological function of the female orgasm? If brain scans can be used to demonstrate that a decision was made several seconds before a person actually makes a conscious choice, what does that tell us about the possibility of free will?
By examining science through this philosophical lens, Lewens reveals what physics can teach us about reality, what biology teaches us about human nature, and what cognitive science teaches us about human freedom. A masterful analysis of the biggest scientific and ethical issues of our age, The Meaning of Science forces us to confront the practical, personal, and political purposes of science -- and why it matters to all of us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lewens (Cultural Evolution: Conceptual Challenges), a philosopher of science at Cambridge University, asks "a series of questions about the broad significance of scientific work" in this accessible and engaging introductory volume. The book's first half deals with the nature of science: "how science works," why and under what conditions it might make sense to trust the findings of science, and how one might differentiate science from nonscience. Lewens explores the ideas of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, bringing clarity to the work of both, and uses the examples of economics, homeopathy, and intelligent design to seek the point of demarcation between scientific and nonscientific ideas. He concludes with the somewhat unsettling position that there is no single characteristic that will permit the two to be distinguished. In the book's second half, Lewens examines a range of current controversies in an attempt to demonstrate how science confronts complex ideas and is unable to disentangle itself from deep philosophical issues. Lewens concludes by placing science in a broader human context: "Although science tells us much that is important, there is no chance that it will ever tell us all that we need to know if we are to understand our world, to live well, and to make wise decisions."