Science and the Retreat from Reason

by John Gillott (Editor), Amitava Kumar (Editor)

Overview

This book looks for the roots of the public's waning faith in science. Providing a clear and accessible introduction to key areas of modern scientific thought, the authors challenge our new fear and loathing of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780853459873
Publisher:	Monthly Review Press
Publication date:	01/01/1997
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John Gillott has a degree in applied mathematics. He works at the Genetic Interest Group, London.

Manjit Kumar has a degree in physics and philosophy. He is deputy editor of the journal Paradigm, and a tutor at the City Literary Institute, London.

Editorial Reviews

Modern scientific thought, as conveyed in quantum mechanics, chaos, and complexity theories, prescribes limits to what can be studied and understood. According to British scientists Gillott and Kumar, these antirationalist principles represent a dangerous negativism that belittles the entire scientific process. Society has abandoned the idea of "progress through science," causing financial support for basic research to dry up. In their analyses of the philosophical underpinning of these theories, the authors examine why the public's faith in science has declined in recent years and why they feel it must be restored. Though accessible and intended for a general readership, this book may not appeal to the casual reader on account of the authors' arcane arguments and use of primary texts from scientific philosophers. For larger public and academic libraries.--Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, FL

Library Journal

Examines the roots of the public's waning faith in science. The authors look at the effects of discoveries in quantum mechanics, the postwar loss of certainty in the sciences, chaos and complexity, science and humanism, the quest for beauty in science, and the mystical tendency in popular science writing. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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