True science

Author: John Ziman
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: Philosopher's Stone Series · Contemporary Science Thought Series. The Real Science takes a naturalistic perspective from a science and technology scholar who once engaged in cutting-edge research, systematically dismantling the Merton norms of "academic science." The traditional research model of academic science is not just a "method"; it is also a unique culture where its members publicly share their discoveries to gain reputation and positions. Established practices such as peer review strictly control the intense competition for credibility. An extremely specialized international scientific community composed of independent experts has been producing what we call "scientific" knowledge—systematic, theoretical, quantitative, experimentally verified, and so on. Ziman demonstrates that the familiar "philosophical" characteristics of scientific knowledge are inextricably linked with everyday cognitive abilities and the peculiar social relationships between scientific knowledge producers. Ziman provides a broad-angle perspective on both natural and humanities sciences, acknowledging their unique values while revealing the limitations inherent in their rationality, credibility, and universality. He also proves that the new "post-academic" research culture, which emphasizes teamwork and performance evaluation, is either for better or worse philosophically altering those scientific characteristics once considered eternal.