Making Natural Knowledge: Constructivism and the History of Science

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University of Chicago Press, Jul 22, 2008 - Science - 368 pages
Arguably the best available introduction to constructivism, a research paradigm that has dominated the history of science for the past forty years, Making Natural Knowledge reflects on the importance of this theory, tells the history of its rise to prominence, and traces its most important tensions.

Viewing scientific knowledge as a product of human culture, Jan Golinski challenges the traditional trajectory of the history of science as steady and autonomous progress. In exploring topics such as the social identity of the scientist, the significance of places where science is practiced, and the roles played by language, instruments, and images, Making Natural Knowledge sheds new light on the relations between science and other cultural domains.

"A standard introduction to historically minded scholars interested in the constructivist programme. In fact, it has been called the 'constructivist's bible' in many a conference corridor."—Matthew Eddy, British Journal for the History of Science

 

Contents

Challenges to the Classical View of Science
1
1 An Outline of Constructivism
13
2 Identity and Discipline
47
3 The Place of Production
79
4 Speaking for Nature
103
5 Interventions and Representations
133
6 Culture and Construction
162
The Obligations of Narrative
186
Bibliography
207
Index
229
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About the author (2008)

Jan Golinski is professor of history and humanities at the University of New Hampshire. He is coeditor of The Sciences in Enlightened Europe, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

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