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Science Education in India: Philosophical, Historical, and Contemporary Conversations
by Rekha Koul Geeta Verma Vanashri Nargund-JoshiThis book brings researchers from across the world to share their expertise, experience, research and reflections on science education in India to make the trends and innovations visible. The thematic parts of the book discuss science education: overviews across K-16 levels; inclusivity and access for underrepresented and marginalized sections; use of innovations including technology in the teaching; and implications for research, practice, innovation and creativity. The book should be of special interest to researchers, school administrators, curriculum designers and policymakers.A timely compilation for current and future generations of academic researchers, teachers and policymakers who are interested in examining the issues facing one of the largest education systems in the world. The book offers unique insights into contemporary topics such as girls in STEM subjects, curriculum reform and developing a generation of future creative thinkers. -Professor Vaille Dawson, The University of Western Australia, Australia.It provides a panorama of challenges in a country of more than 1.3 billion people, 50% being below the age of 25 years. The book arrives at a time in which there are discouraging trends, including a decrease in funding for education. The book chapters are centred on issues that warrant debate to foster awareness of the roles of science education in India and priorities and possibilities for expanding horizons on the road ahead. -Professor Kenneth Tobin, The City University of New York, New York, USA.
Science Education, Career Aspirations and Minority Ethnic Students
by Billy WongIs science typically for White men? Is science for 'people like us'? What are the barriers and opportunities? This book explores the science career aspirations of minority ethnic students. It investigates the views, experiences and identities of British Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani youths in relation to science.
Science Fiction and Extro-Science Fiction (Univocal)
by Isaac Asimov Quentin MeillassouxIn Science Fiction and Extro-Science Fiction, Quentin Meillassoux addresses the problem of chaos and of the constancy of natural laws in the context of literature. With his usual argumentative rigor, he elucidates the distinction between science fiction, a genre in which science remains possible in spite of all the upheavals that may attend the world in which the tale takes place, and fiction outside-science, the literary concept he fashions in this book, a fiction in which science becomes impossible. With its investigations of the philosophies of Hume, Kant, and Popper, Science Fiction and Extro-Science Fiction broadens the inquiry that Meillassoux began in After Finitude, thinking through the concrete possibilities and consequences of a chaotic world in which human beings can no longer resort to science to ground their existence. It is a significant milestone in the work of an emerging philosopher, which will appeal to readers of both philosophy and literature. The text is followed by Isaac Asimov&’s essay &“The Billiard Ball.&”
Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence
by Susan SchneiderA timely volume that uses science fiction as a springboard to meaningful philosophical discussions, especially at points of contact between science fiction and new scientific developments. Raises questions and examines timely themes concerning the nature of the mind, time travel, artificial intelligence, neural enhancement, free will, the nature of persons, transhumanism, virtual reality, and neuroethics Draws on a broad range of books, films and television series, including The Matrix, Star Trek, Blade Runner, Frankenstein, Brave New World, The Time Machine, and Back to the Future Considers the classic philosophical puzzles that appeal to the general reader, while also exploring new topics of interest to the more seasoned academic
Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence
by Susan SchneiderFeaturing numerous updates and enhancements, Science Fiction and Philosophy, 2nd Edition, presents a collection of readings that utilize concepts developed from science fiction to explore a variety of classic and contemporary philosophical issues. Uses science fiction to address a series of classic and contemporary philosophical issues, including many raised by recent scientific developments Explores questions relating to transhumanism, brain enhancement, time travel, the nature of the self, and the ethics of artificial intelligence Features numerous updates to the popular and highly acclaimed first edition, including new chapters addressing the cutting-edge topic of the technological singularity Draws on a broad range of science fiction’s more familiar novels, films, and TV series, including I, Robot, The Hunger Games, The Matrix, Star Trek, Blade Runner, and Brave New World Provides a gateway into classic philosophical puzzles and topics informed by the latest technology
Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth
by Stuart RitchieAn insider’s view of science reveals why many scientific results cannot be relied upon – and how the system can be reformed.Science is how we understand the world. Yet failures in peer review and mistakes in statistics have rendered a shocking number of scientific studies useless – or, worse, badly misleading. Such errors have distorted our knowledge in fields as wide-ranging as medicine, physics, nutrition, education, genetics, economics, and the search for extraterrestrial life. As Science Fictions makes clear, the current system of research funding and publication not only fails to safeguard us from blunders but actively encourages bad science – with sometimes deadly consequences.Stuart Ritchie’s own work challenging an infamous psychology experiment helped spark what is now widely known as the “replication crisis,” the realization that supposed scientific truths are often just plain wrong. Now, he reveals the very human biases, misunderstandings, and deceptions that undermine the scientific endeavor: from contamination in science labs to the secret vaults of failed studies that nobody gets to see; from outright cheating with fake data to the more common, but still ruinous, temptation to exaggerate mediocre results for a shot at scientific fame.Yet Science Fictions is far from a counsel of despair. Rather, it’s a defense of the scientific method against the pressures and perverse incentives that lead scientists to bend the rules. By illustrating the many ways that scientists go wrong, Ritchie gives us the knowledge we need to spot dubious research and points the way to reforms that could make science trustworthy once again.
Science For Humanism: The Recovery of Human Agency
by Charles R. VarelaIn the 18th century, the pre-modern Judeo-Greco-Christian problem of freedom and determinism is transformed by Kant into the modern problem of the freedom of human agency in the natural and cultural worlds of deterministic structures; it is this version of the freedom and determinism issue which centres the Science and Humanism debates, and thus marks the history of the social sciences. Anthony Giddens is credited with providing the new vocabulary of ‘structure’ and ‘agency’ in order to formulate the problem of freedom and determinism in those terms, thus making this formulation fruitful. In this book, Charles R. Varela proposes that Kant originally formulated this problem, and makes a series of wide-ranging and groundbreaking observations based on Kant's metaphysics of realism which enables Varela to propose a solution to the structure/agency problem. Subjects revisited in this book include: · "Giddens’ Call" · The stalemate of the social and psychological sciences · The determinist tradition of modern science · Postmodernism This breadth of themes, drawn together by Varela with his work on Kant, fully realizes Giddens’ principle that human agency is a real causal force. It is Kant's conception of causal power that is the causal force Giddens' has called for. Science For Humanism: The Recovery of Human Agency will be of particular interest to students of humanism and therefore realism, Kant and Giddens.
Science Industry and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Science (Routledge Library Editions: History & Philosophy of Science)
by Stephen and Cotgrove & BoxOriginally published in 1970. Two major changes have characterised science in the twentieth century. Firstly, there has been its rapid growth. Secondly, and central to the theme his book – science is no longer mainly an academic activity carried on in universities. Industry will soon be the largest employer of scientists. This book deals with issues of bureaucracy in science threatening its creativity and the failure of industry to recruit the best graduates, as well as what attracts people to study science.
Science Policy Up Close
by John H. Marburger IIIIn a career that included Presidential Science Advisor to George W. Bush, John Marburger stood on the front line of battles that pulled science deep into the political arena. Science controversies, he discovered, are never just about science. As his reflections show, science can no longer be shielded from public scrutiny and government supervision.
Science Says
by Rob KaplanPerhaps no other topic is as relevant to our lives today as science. We look to the interpreters of science for wisdom and answers, insights into the nature of the universe and who we are, as well as explanations for the common and everyday world in which we live. Here, then, is an indispensable collection of the best that has been written and said about science from ancient times to today. Written by scientists and philosophers alike, the passages in this handy volume are filled with wit and wisdom, and range from brief insights to longer, thought-provoking quotes.
Science Societies: Resources for Life in a Technoscientific World
by Sarah R. DaviesWhat role do science and technology play in society? What is the nature of expert knowledge? What is science’s relation to democracy? This introduction to science, technology, and society answers these questions, and more, by exploring contemporary research on topics such as expertise, activism, science policy, and innovation. It offers a comprehensive resource for considering the place that science and technology have in contemporary societies, and the roles that they can and should play. Accessible to a non-specialist audience, it draws on a rich range of cases and examples, from nuclear activism in India to content moderation in Kenya. Framing science as always social, and society as always shaped by science and technology, it asks: what worlds do we want science and technology to bring into being?
Science Studies Meets Colonialism
by Amit PrasadThe field of science and technology studies has long critiqued the idea that there is such a thing as a universal and singular "Science" that exists independently of human society, interpretation, and action. However, the multiple significant ways in which colonial legacies impact and shape this project have often remained out of sight at the edges of the discipline. In this important book, Amit Prasad seeks to rectify this erasure, demonstrating that problematic idealized imaginaries of science, scientists, and the scientific realm can be traced back to the birth of "modern science" during European colonialism. Such visions of science and technology have undergirded the imagination of the West (and thus of its others), constructing hierarchies of technological innovation and scientific value, but also unexpectedly leaving society vulnerable to contemporary threats of misinformation and conspiracy theories, as has been strikingly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Far from being an indictment of STS, this rigorous book seeks to highlight such concerns to make STS engage more carefully with issues of colonialism and thus to enable readers to understand the rapidly changing global topography of science and technology today and into the future.
Science Studies as Naturalized Philosophy
by Finn CollinThis book approaches its subject matter in a way that combines a strong analytical and critical perspective with a historical and sociological framework for the understanding of the emergence of Science Studies. This is a novelty, since extant literature on this topic tends either to narrate the history of the field, with little criticism, or to criticize Science Studies from a philosophical platform but with little interest in its historical and social context. The book provides a critical review of the most prominent figures in Science Studies (also known as Science and Technology Studies) and traces the historical roots of the discipline back to developments emerging after World War II. It also presents it as an heir to a long trend in Western thought towards the naturalization of philosophy, where a priori modes of thought are replaced by empirical ones. Finally, it points to ways for Science Studies to proceed in the future.
Science Unlimited?: The Challenges of Scientism
by Massimo Pigliucci Maarten BoudryAll too often in contemporary discourse, we hear about science overstepping its proper limits—about its brazenness, arrogance, and intellectual imperialism. The problem, critics say, is scientism: the privileging of science over all other ways of knowing. Science, they warn, cannot do or explain everything, no matter what some enthusiasts believe. In Science Unlimited?, noted philosophers of science Maarten Boudry and Massimo Pigliucci gather a diverse group of scientists, science communicators, and philosophers of science to explore the limits of science and this alleged threat of scientism. In this wide-ranging collection, contributors ask whether the term scientism in fact (or in belief) captures an interesting and important intellectual stance, and whether it is something that should alarm us. Is scientism a well-developed position about the superiority of science over all other modes of human inquiry? Or is it more a form of excessive confidence, an uncritical attitude of glowing admiration? What, if any, are its dangers? Are fears that science will marginalize the humanities and eradicate the human subject—that it will explain away emotion, free will, consciousness, and the mystery of existence—justified? Does science need to be reined in before it drives out all other disciplines and ways of knowing? Both rigorous and balanced, Science Unlimited? interrogates our use of a term that is now all but ubiquitous in a wide variety of contexts and debates. Bringing together scientists and philosophers, both friends and foes of scientism, it is a conversation long overdue.
Science Wars: Politics, Gender, and Race
by Anthony WalshFew issues cause academics to disagree more than gender and race, especially when topics are addressed in terms of biological differences. To conduct research in these areas or comment favorably on research can subject one to scorn.When these topics are addressed, they generally take the form of philosophical debates. Anthony Walsh focuses upon such debates and supporting research. He divides parties into biologists and social constructionists, arguing that biologists remain focused on laboratory work, while constructionists are acutely aware of the impact of biologists in contested territories.Science Wars introduces the ideas motivating the parties and examines social constructionism and its issues with science. He explores arguments over conceptual tools scientists love and constructionists abhor, and he provides a solid discussion of the co-evolution of genes and culture. Walsh then focuses his attention on gender, how constructionists view it, and the neuroscience explanation of gender differences. Moving to race, Walsh looks at how some have tried to bury the concept of race, while others emphasize it. He considers definitions of race—essentialist, taxonomic, population, and lineage—as they have evolved from the time of the Enlightenment to the present. And finally, he attempts to bring the opposing sides together by pointing out what each can bring to a meaningful discussion.
Science after the Practice Turn in the Philosophy, History, and Social Studies of Science (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Science #14)
by Michael Lynch Léna Soler Sjoerd Zwart Vincent Israel-JostIn the 1980s, philosophical, historical and social studies of science underwent a change which later evolved into a turn to practice. Analysts of science were asked to pay attention to scientific practices in meticulous detail and along multiple dimensions, including the material, social and psychological. Following this turn, the interest in scientific practices continued to increase and had an indelible influence in the various fields of science studies. No doubt, the practice turn changed our conceptions and approaches of science, but what did it really teach us? What does it mean to study scientific practices? What are the general lessons, implications, and new challenges? This volume explores questions about the practice turn using both case studies and theoretical analysis. The case studies examine empirical and mathematical sciences, including the engineering sciences. The volume promotes interactions between acknowledged experts from different, often thought of as conflicting, orientations. It presents contributions in conjunction with critical commentaries that put the theses and assumptions of the former in perspective. Overall, the book offers a unique and diverse range of perspectives on the meanings, methods, lessons, and challenges associated with the practice turn.
Science and Aesthetic Judgement: A Study in Taine's Critical Method (Routledge Library Editions: Aesthetics #4)
by Sholom J. KahnFirst published in 1953. This title provides an exposition and discussion on Hippolyte Taine (1828-1893), the leader of the Naturalist movement in French criticism. The book examines his theories and some of his practice, as a critic of literature and art. A more general consideration of the chief issues raised by his central problem is also given, namely the attempt to approach the analysis and judgement of works of art historically, and thus to provide an objective basis of criticism. This title will be of interest to students of art history and philosophy.
Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues
by J. B. StumpScience and Christianity is an accessible, engaging introduction to topics at the intersection of science and Christian theology. A philosophically orientated treatment that introduces the relationship of science to Christianity and explores to what extent the findings of science affect traditional Christian theology Addresses important theological topics in light of contemporary science, including divine action, the problem of natural evil, and eschatology Historically oriented chapters and chapters covering methodological principles for both science and theology provide the reader with a strong foundational understanding of the issues Includes feature boxes highlighting quotations, biographies of major scientists and theologians, key terms, and other helpful information Issues are presented as fairly and objectively as possible, with strengths and weaknesses of particular interpretations fully discussed
Science and Culture: Lisa Jardine, Jean Michel Massing and Simon Schaffer (Creative Lives and Works)
by Alan MacfarlaneScience and Culture: Lisa Jardine, Jean Michel Massing and Simon Schaffer is a collection of interviews that are being published as a book for the first time. These interviews have been conducted by one of England’s leading social anthropologists and historians, Professor Alan Macfarlane. Filmed over a period of several years, the three conversations in this volume are part of the series Creative Lives and Works. These transcriptions form a part of a larger set of interviews that cut across various disciplines, from the social sciences and the sciences to the performing and visual arts. The current volume is on three foremost historians of science. All civilizations throughout history have both produced and accumulated knowledge. This inquisitiveness about learning, and about nature, is reflected in science and culture. Renaissance thinkers such as Galilei Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton were the ‘first true scientists’ of the modern world. Lisa Jardine, Jean Michel Massing and Simon Schaffer bring to life their own enriching experiences and show us that the future of science cannot be determined without taking into account its philosophical problems and the study of complexities associated with it.The book will be of enormous value not just to those interested in the subject of History of Science and Philosophy, Archaeology and Ethnocultural Studies but also who are curious to learn how civilizations and their cultures impact the study of science. Please note: This title is co-published with Social Science Press, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Science and Democracy: A Science and Technology Studies Approach
by Linda Soneryd Göran SundqvistThis accessible book introduces students to perspectives from the field of science and technology studies. Putting forward the thesis that science and democracy share important characteristics, it shows how authority cannot be taken for granted and must continuously be reproduced and confirmed by others. At a time when fundamental scientific and democratic values are being threatened by sceptics and populist arguments, an understanding of the relationship between them is much needed. This is an invaluable resource for all who are interested in the role of scientific knowledge in governance, societal developments and the implications for democracy, concerned publics and citizen engagement.
Science and ESP (Routledge Library Editions: History & Philosophy of Science)
by J. R. SmythiesOriginally published in 1967. Representing the viewpoints of philosophers, psychologists, anthropologists, physicists, psychoanalysts, parapsychologists, psychiatrists and biologists, this volume discusses many aspects of ESP. The general theme is that the phenomena is very valid and can no longer be ignored.
Science and Enlightenment
by Nicholas MaxwellThis book describes two great problems of learning that confront humanity: learning about the nature of the universe and about ourselves and other living things as a part of it, and learning how to become civilized. The author proposes that with the creation of modern science in the 17th century, the first problem was essentially solved. However, the Enlightenment of the 18th century blundered, and this defective version, inherited from the past, is still built into academia. <P><P> The book describes a new Enlightenment, in which the current dominance of Knowledge-Inquiry progresses toward what the author terms Wisdom-Inquiry. The book discusses how wisdom-inquiry would help, and addresses questions and objections engendered by the new Enlightenment. This approach, argues the author, would allow us to succeed where the Enlightenment failed: to learn from scientific progress how to make social progress towards the best possible world. <P><P> Science and Enlightenment: Two Great Problems of Learning will interest a broad audience, ranging from academics, university students and teachers; journalists, politicians and general readers concerned about global problems and the fate of the world.
Science and Environment in Chile: The Politics of Expert Advice in a Neoliberal Democracy (Urban and Industrial Environments)
by Javiera BarandiaranThe politics of scientific advice across four environmental conflicts in Chile, when the state acted as a “neutral broker” rather than protecting the common good.In Science and Environment in Chile, Javiera Barandiarán examines the consequences for environmental governance when the state lacks the capacity to produce an authoritative body of knowledge. Focusing on the experience of Chile after it transitioned from dictatorship to democracy, she examines a series of environmental conflicts in which the state tried to act as a “neutral broker” rather than the protector of the common good. She argues that this shift in the role of the state—occurring in other countries as well—is driven in part by the political ideology of neoliberalism, which favors market mechanisms and private initiatives over the actions of state agencies. Chile has not invested in environmental science labs, state agencies with in-house capacities, or an ancillary network of trusted scientific advisers—despite the growing complexity of environmental problems and increasing popular demand for more active environmental stewardship. Unlike a high modernist “empire” state with the scientific and technical capacity to undertake large-scale projects, Chile's model has been that of an “umpire” state that purchases scientific advice from markets.After describing the evolution of Chilean regulatory and scientific institutions during the transition, Barandiarán describes four environmental crises that shook citizens' trust in government: the near-collapse of the farmed salmon industry when an epidemic killed millions of fish; pollution from a paper and pulp mill that killed off or forced out thousands of black-neck swans; a gold mine that threatened three glaciers; and five controversial mega-dams in Patagonia.
Science and Ethical Values (John Calvin McNair Lecture Series)
by Bentley GlassBentley Glass, one of the world's leading investigators in the field of human genetics, is concerned with the moral absolutes and ethics involved in experimentation with human life in the laboratory. He feels that with the development of knowledge must come wider recognition of consequences. His book indicates that we are responsible for all living things.Originally published in 1965.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
Science and Free Will: Neurophilosophical Controversies and What It Means to Be Human (The Frontiers Collection)
by Stephan SchleimFree will is one of the most discussed topics in neuroscience, psychology and philosophy. Many even assume that our view of human nature and our social order are at stake. This book shows that the academic debate is often conducted under misleading assumptions: Practical freedom should not only be explored in quixotic laboratory experiments. Therefore, in the second part of Science and Free Will the problem is related to real decisions in our everyday lives. But first, important basic knowledge from over 2,500 years of our cultural history is conveyed. Learn how already Socrates rejected the idea that humans are only the sum of their physical parts. The book then shows how the dispute over free will in Christianity almost led to a civil war. From the 18th century onwards, scientifically influenced ideas became increasingly important. Biology, physiology and physics have an extensive say before psychology and brain research take over the topic. Science and Free Will explains why the endless debate over determinism is not the core of the problem. Well-known physicists such as Max Planck, Albert Einstein and Anton Zeilinger are discussed. The question is not whether our decisions are causally determined, but rather what causes play a role. What this means for the law, science and how we can still be free is discussed in detail at the end.