Steve Fuller

"Should science and technology be treated as separate entities? What impact has globalization had on science and technology? Can science be clearly distinguished from other forms of knowledge? Does the politicization of science really matter? Is there a role for the social regulation of scientific inquiry? Should we be worried about research fraud? These questions are explored by examining an array of historical, philosophical and contemporary sources. Attention is paid, for example, to the Bruno Latour's The Politics of Nature as a model for science policy, as well as the global controversy surrounding Bjorn Lomborg's The Sceptical Environmentalist, which led to the dismantling and re-establishment of the Danish national research ethics board."--book jacket.

"Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions has sold over a million copies in more than twenty languages and has remained one of the ten most cited academic works for the past half century. In contrast, Karl Popper's seminal book The Logic of Scientific Discovery has lapsed into relative obscurity. Although the two men debated the nature of science only once, the legacy of this encounter has dominated intellectual and public discussions on the topic over since." "Almost universally recognized as the modern watershed in the philosophy of science, Kuhn's relativistic vision of shifting paradigms - which asserted that science was just another human activity, like art or philosophy, only more specialized - triumphed over Popper's more positivistic belief in science's revolutionary potential to falsify society's dogmas. But has this victory been beneficial for science? Steve Fuller argues that not only has Kuhn's dominance had an adverse impact on the field but both thinkers have been radically misinterpreted in the process."--BOOK JACKET

The pilgrimage from Plato to NATO (episodes in embushelment) -- The last time scientists struggled for the soul of science -- The politics of the scientific image in the age of Conant -- From Conant's education strategy to Kuhn's research strategy -- How Kuhn unwittingly saved social science from a radical future -- The world not well lost (philosophy after Kuhn) -- Kuhnification as ritualized political impotence (the hidden history of science studies).

Intelligent Design Theory (IDT) was responsible for the 17th century's Scientific Revolution. Evolution, derives from ancient, even pagan, ideas about our rootedness in nature and the transience of various life forms. What happened to reverse these two movements' fortunes? This work provides an understanding of this debate.

"This compact and concise book brings science to your fingertips. More than 2000 bulleted facts are accompanied by hundreds of illustrations, diagrams and photographs. An extensive index allows for easy navigation of facts"--Back cover.

"This book explores whether and how religious and secular worldviews and political ideologies held by scientists, citizens, decision-makers and politicians influence science as practiced and understood today. In this book, customized science is defined as a science built according to - or altered and fitted to - a particular group's specifications, that is, its needs, interests or values, its political ideology or worldview. It is science governed not merely by goals such as increased knowledge and explanatory power, but also by goals such as economic growth, sustainable development, the equality of women or the end of religion. The contributions to this book discuss, with regard to particular worldviews and themes connected to the public role of science, whether science is increasingly becoming customized to fit the needs and interests of various groups in society, but also what the consequences of such a development may be both for science and society"--

Steve Fuller outlins a social theory of knowledge for the 21st century. With characteristic subtlety and verve, he deals directly with a world in which it is no longer taken for granted that universities and academics are the best placed and people to embody the life of the mind.