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Science permeates nearly every aspect of our lives, and yet, as
current debates over intelligent design, the causes of global
warming, and alternative health practices indicate, the question of
how to distinguish science from pseudoscience remains a difficult
one. To address this question, Sherrie Lynne Lyons draws on four
examples from the nineteenth-century--sea serpent investigations,
spiritualism, phrenology, and Darwin's theory of evolution. Each
attracted the interest of prominent scientists as well as the
general public, yet three remained at the edges of scientific
respectability while the fourth, evolutionary theory, although
initially regarded as scientific heresy, ultimately became the new
scientific orthodoxy. Taking a serious look at the science behind
these examples, Lyons argues that distinguishing between science
and pseudoscience, particularly in the midst of discovery, is not
as easy as the popular image of science tends to suggest. Two
examples of present-day controversies surrounding evolutionary
psychology and the meaning of fossils confirm this assertion. She
concludes that although the boundaries of what constitutes science
are not always clear-cut, the very intimate relationship between
science and society, rather than being a hindrance, contributes to
the richness and diversity of scientific ideas. Taken together,
these entertaining and accessible examples illuminate important
issues concerning the theory, practice, and content of science.
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