The Advancement of Science: Science Without Legend, Objectivity Without Illusions

By Philip Kitcher

Book Overview

During the last three decades, reflections on the growth of scientific knowledge have inspired historians, sociologists, and some philosophers to contend that scientific objectivity is a myth. In this book, Kitcher attempts to resurrect the notions of objectivity and progress in science by identifying both the limitations of idealized treatments of growth of knowledge and the overreactions to philosophical idealizations. Recognizing that science is done not by logically omniscient subjects working in isolation, but by people with a variety of personal and social interests, who cooperate and compete with one another, he argues that, nonetheless, we may conceive the growth of science as a process in which both our vision of nature and our ways of learning more about nature improve. Offering a detailed picture of the advancement of science, he sets a new agenda for the philosophy of science and for other "science studies" disciplines.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195096533
• ISBN13: 9780195096538
• Release Date: April 1995
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent and comprehensive.

Kitcher's work is a masterpiece of using historical evidence to show the nature of scientific investigation. Science may be a fallible, human activity, but as Einstein put it, it is the most precious thing we have. Kitcher's book will show how and why, and elegantly refutes many arguments to the contrary, including most notably the strongest readings of Kuhn's famous _The Structure of Scientific Revolutions_. In particular,...