Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method

by Henry H. Bauer

Book Overview

What is science? Is social science a science? Why are more and more so-called scientific discoveries being exposed as outright frauds? Henry Bauer tackles these and many more intriguing questions that are emerging from within the academic and scientific communities and attracting attention from the popular media and the general public.

Whether one is a specialist or generalist, scientist or humanist, thinker or activist, it is important...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252064364
• ISBN13: 9780252064364
• Release Date: May 1994
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The History of Science Should be Y-Rated.

Bauer argues that the notion of a single, logical Scientific Method is contradicted by the ongoing process of science and by its history (i.e., the history of science). The facts strongly suggest that something similar to a Douglas McGregor "Theory Y" mindset and the set of relationships it implies are necessary to produce useful scientific results, while "Theory X" minds and relationships, though possibly useful in simplifying communications or in taking credit for "Theory Y" activities, are not ideas that can by themselves legitimately create paradiam shifts. (Read the Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor to understand what I'm getting at.) "Theory Y" does not deny that Love is a commodity. Nor that competitive forces are not part and partial of this entity. Love has its own market with rules, supply, and demand dictacted by the heart.

Very valuable discussion of science, method, technology-STS

Very valuable discussion of science; science, technology, & society (STS) I consider this short book by Professor Bauer a must read for any person, scientist or non-scientist, who wants a concise but thorough discussion of the way science works, and of the myth, really ideal, of the scientific method, and most importantly, of what the author calls STS: science, technology, and society. I found the book remarkable because Professor Bauer is a practicing scientist, yet he delineates a philosophy of science from a very objective, dispassionate point of view. While he rightly praises science much in the last chapter, most of the rest of the book focuses not only on the limitations of science and scientific knowledge, but which sciences really are and are not scientific as he defines it. Clearly the fact that Professor Bauer has been the dean of arts and sciences at Virginia Tech has given him a balance between science and the arts, and has allowed him to see science both as an insider and an outsider. Thus the main thrust of the book is to show that what is most vital for the layperson is not to attempt to become "scientifically literate," which the author claims would be a very time-consuming task, even for a college student, but rather to see that science is a human activity whose theories and models are limited not only because scientists are human, but because almost without exception scientific "truths" are at some point superseded by better "truths," a process which repeats itself ad infinitum. It is therefore far better for the layperson to try to understand science's relationship to technology and society. The book does cover the relationship between science and technology well, but the author seems to be content to let the reader explore science's relationship to society through other sources, which I did not see in the references. Still, this is a very minor shortcoming in my view because of the many great insights and sources which he does provide. A key point stressed by Prof. Bauer in different contexts is that the power of science is that it is agreed on by consensus, but that does not always mean that the consensus is right, again because humans are fallible, and because data is *always* interpreted according to a theory or some other bias. The author, as have many other philosophers of science, refutes the common belief that in science knowledge isgained exclusively by strict Baconian impartial induction. Examples are cited where scientists could not accept data obtained wholly by scientific methods because it didn't fit their prejudices. The chapter called "The So-Called Scientific Method" is the best I've read on why the empirical scientific method, while a wonderful ideal to strive for, is nevertheless a myth. Prof. Bauer makes many important points, such as that some sciences (physics) are theory-driven, while other sciences are observation-driven (geology); some sciences can make precise theories th

From A Former Student of The Author:

I took a class from Professor Bauer at Virginia Tech (the title eludes me) about pseudoscience - Loch Ness monster hunts, cryptozoology, UFO's, Cold Fusion, Kirlian Photography, Psychic/Palm Readings, etc. - and this was a supplemental text for the class. The book really explores how the Scientific Establishment/Hierarchy operates and how it isn't all that "objective" after all. Scientists are people, after all, and with that comes all the animosities, territoriality, envy, back-stabbing, and greed that all people exhibit. Radical discoveries by groups of people may get ignored, dismissed offhand, or viciously attacked by the establishment so as to preserve the integrity and perceived authority that the establishment weilds. Science is not an immaculate, dust and static free process - there are struggles and paradigm shifts all the time - and the general public tends to think it is just the opposite. I recommend this book for anyone who likes to challenge conventional modes of thinking and re-examine some of the longest-standing illusions about science ever created.