Imperfect Oracle: The Epistemic and Moral Authority of Science
()
About this ebook
Science and its offshoot, technology, enter into the very fabric of our society in so many ways that we cannot imagine life without them. We are surrounded by crises and debates over climate change, stem-cell research, AIDS, evolutionary theory and “intelligent design,” the use of DNA in solving crimes, and many other issues. Society is virtually forced to follow our natural tendency, which is to give great weight to the opinions of scientific experts. How is it that these experts have come to acquire such authority, and just how far does their authority reach? Does specialized knowledge entitle scientists to moral authority as well? How does scientific authority actually function in our society, and what are the countervailing social forces (including those deriving from law, politics, and religion) with which it has to contend?
Theodore Brown seeks to answer such questions in this magisterial work of synthesis about the role of science in society. In Part I, he elucidates the concept of authority and its relation to autonomy, and then traces the historical growth of scientific authority and its place in contemporary American society. In Part II, he analyzes how scientific authority plays out in relation to other social domains, such as law, religion, government, and the public sphere.
Related to Imperfect Oracle
Related ebooks
Problems of Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflecting on Reflexivity: The Human Condition as an Ontological Surprise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNaturalism and Normativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Geopragmatics of Anthropological Identification Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRenewal: The Inclusion of Integralism and Moral Values into the Social Sciences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPhilosophy of Social Sciences: An Introduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractical Philosophy: Ethics, Society and Culture Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForce, Movement, Intensity: The Newtonian Imagination in the Humanities and Social Sciences Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWomen, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scandal of Continuity in Middle East Anthropology: Form, Duration, Difference Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCulture and Cognition: The Boundaries of Literary and Scientific Inquiry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSocial Practices as Biological Niche Construction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Human Eros: Eco-ontology and the Aesthetics of Existence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTheory Can Be More than It Used to Be: Learning Anthropology's Method in a Time of Transition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsValences of Interdisciplinarity: Theory, Practice, Pedagogy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Taming of Evolution: The Persistence of Nonevolutionary Views in the Study of Humans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssays on the Anthropology of Reason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marking Time: On the Anthropology of the Contemporary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScience and Evidence for Design in the Universe Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ingenious Nonsense: Religion, Philosophy, Pseudoscience, and the Paranormal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsListening to the Logos: Speech and the Coming of Wisdom in Ancient Greece Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMyths, Models and Paradigms Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Unruly Complexity: Ecology, Interpretation, Engagement Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCharacter and Temperament (Barnes & Noble Digital Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntroducing Semiotic: Its History and Doctrine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reason and Emotion: Essays on Ancient Moral Psychology and Ethical Theory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Human Nature as Capacity: Transcending Discourse and Classification Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Body of Faith: A Biological History of Religion in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Stoicism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Science & Mathematics For You
The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago: The Authorized Abridgement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lies My Gov't Told Me: And the Better Future Coming Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Letter to Liberals: Censorship and COVID: An Attack on Science and American Ideals Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work - and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Free Will Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Psychology of Totalitarianism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/52084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Imperfect Oracle
0 ratings0 reviews