Thomas Kuhn and the Science Wars (Postmodern Encounters)

by Ziauddin Sardar

Book Overview

Not so long ago, we believed that science was a neutral, value-free quest for Truth. With "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" (1962), Thomas Kuhn opened science to scrutiny as a "social"... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1840461365
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Icon,Totem Books
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.1" x 0.3" x 7.2"

Customer Reviews

short & sweet

At about 60 pages with 200 words/page, this is more an essay than a book. At the beginning of the 20th century, SCIENCE had a distinguished status as the only producer of objective truths. This position was supported by various philosophies designed to distinguish scientific truth from other truths. This book describes the challenges to this status of science produced in the wake of Kuhn's work and responses to this challenge within the scientific and philosophical community. It is nice, brief and comprehensible introduction to the "sociology of scientific knowledge" requiring only a modicum of prior knowledge. My only complaint is that it is too sketchy at several points; I would have liked to see several of themes developed at greater length. This is the price of brevity.

Brilliant summation of difficult material

I just had a chance to look at this popular book -- which I presume is meant for a British audience. It really does the business, in terms of quickly getting readers up to speed with the reception of Kuhn's work and the ongoing 'Science Wars'. An especially good feature is its summary of Steve Fuller's recent controversial take on Kuhn's 'significance'.