From Einstein's quest for a unified field theory to Stephen
Hawking's belief that we "would know the mind of God" through such
a theory, contemporary science-and physics in particular-has
claimed that it alone possesses absolute knowledge of the universe.
In a sweeping work of philosophical inquiry, originally published
in French in seven volumes, Isabelle Stengers builds on her
previous intellectual accomplishments to explore the role and
authority of science in modern societies and to challenge its
pretensions to objectivity, rationality, and truth. For Stengers,
science is a constructive enterprise, a diverse, interdependent,
and highly contingent system that does not simply discover
preexisting truths but, through specific practices and processes,
helps shape them. She addresses conceptual themes crucial for
modern science, such as the formation of physical-mathematical
intelligibility, from Galilean mechanics and the origin of dynamics
to quantum theory, the question of biological reductionism, and the
power relations at work in the social and behavioral sciences.
Focusing on the polemical and creative aspects of such themes, she
argues for an ecology of practices that takes into account how
scientific knowledge evolves, the constraints and obligations such
practices impose, and the impact they have on the sciences and
beyond. This perspective, which demands that competing practices
and interests be taken seriously rather than merely (and often
condescendingly) tolerated, poses a profound political and ethical
challenge. In place of both absolutism and tolerance, she proposes
a cosmopolitics-modeled on the ideal scientific method that
considers all assumptions and facts as being open to question-that
reintegrates the natural and the social, the modern and the
archaic, the scientific and the irrational. Cosmopolitics I
includes the first three volumes of the original work.
Cosmopolitics II will be published by the University of Minnesota
Press in Spring 2011.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
