| Philosophy of Pseudoscience: Reconsidering the Demarcation Problem Contributor(s): Pigliucci, Massimo (Editor), Boudry, Maarten (Editor) |
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ISBN: 022605196X ISBN-13: 9780226051963 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $40.59 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2013 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Epistemology - Science | History - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Dewey: 001.9 |
| LCCN: 2013000805 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.40 lbs) 480 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: What sets the practice of rigorously tested, sound science apart from pseudoscience? In this volume, the contributors seek to answer this question, known to philosophers of science as "the demarcation problem." This issue has a long history in philosophy, stretching as far back as the early twentieth century and the work of Karl Popper. But by the late 1980s, scholars in the field began to treat the demarcation problem as impossible to solve and futile to ponder. However, the essays that Massimo Pigliucci and Maarten Boudry have assembled in this volume make a rousing case for the unequivocal importance of reflecting on the separation between pseudoscience and sound science. Moreover, the demarcation problem is not a purely theoretical dilemma of mere academic interest: it affects parents' decisions to vaccinate children and governments' willingness to adopt policies that prevent climate change. Pseudoscience often mimics science, using the superficial language and trappings of actual scientific research to seem more respectable. Even a well-informed public can be taken in by such questionable theories dressed up as science. Pseudoscientific beliefs compete with sound science on the health pages of newspapers for media coverage and in laboratories for research funding. Now more than ever the ability to separate genuine scientific findings from spurious ones is vital, and The Philosophy of Pseudoscience provides ground for philosophers, sociologists, historians, and laypeople to make decisions about what science is or isn't. |
Contributor Bio(s): Boudry, Maarten: - Maarten Boudry is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences at Ghent University, Belgium.Pigliucci, Massimo: - Massimo Pigliucci is the K. D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He is the author of many books, including, most recently, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life. |