The Disunity of science: boundaries, contexts, and power

Peter Louis Galison, David J.. Stump

Stanford University Press, 1996 - Science - 567 pages

Is science unified or disunified? Over the last century, the question has raised the interest (and hackles) of scientists, philosophers, historians, and sociologists of science, for at stake is how science and society fit together. Recent years have seen a turn largely against the rhetoric of unity, ranging from the pleas of condensed matter physicists for disciplinary autonomy all the way to discussions in the humanities and social sciences that involve local history, feminism, multiculturalism, postmodernism, scientific relativism and realism, and social constructivism.
Many of these varied aspects of the debate over the disunity of science are reflected in the sixteen papers in this volume, which brings together a number of scholars studying science who otherwise have had little to say to each other: feminist theorists, philosophers of science, sociologists of science. Most of the contributors begin with the view that there is something local about scientific knowledge, and then try to explore where that leads.

Contents

• The Disunities of the Sciences: 37
• Styles of Reasoning Conceptual History and: 75
• Metaphysical Disorder and Scientif1c Disunity: 101
• Computer Simulations and the Trading Zone: 118
• Carnap Neurath and Beyond: 158
• CONTEXTS: 185

About the author

Peter Galison is Pellegrino University Professor of the HistPeter Galison is Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University. He is tory of Science and of Physics at Harvard University. He is the author of "Einstein's Clocks, Poincar 's Maps: Empires ofhe author of "Einstein's Clocks, Poincar 's Maps: Empires of Time, How Experiments End", and "Image and Logic: A Materia Time, How Experiments End", and "Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics, " among other books, and coeditorl Culture of Microphysics, " among other books, and coeditor (with Emily Thompson) of "The Architecture of Science" (MIT (with Emily Thompson) of "The Architecture of Science" (MIT Press, 1999). Press, 1999).

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Disunity of science: boundaries, contexts, and power; Writing science
• Editors: Peter Louis Galison, David J.. Stump
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Stanford University Press, 1996
• ISBN: 0804725624, 9780804725620
• Length: 567 pages
• Subjects: Science / Philosophy & Social Aspects