| Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge Contributor(s): Marks, Jonathan (Author) |
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ISBN: 0520259602 ISBN-13: 9780520259607 Publisher: University of California Press OUR PRICE: $33.20 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2009 Annotation: "Highly readable and informative, this critical series of vignettes illustrates a long history of the corruption of science by folk beliefs, careerism, and sociopolitical agendas. Marks repeatedly brings home the message that we should challenge scientists, especially molecular geneticists, before we accept their results and give millions of dollars in public and private funds toward their enterprises."--Russell Tuttle, The University of Chicago |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Physical - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Dewey: 301.01 |
| LCCN: 2008040508 |
| Physical Information: 0.81" H x 6" W x 8.9" (1.04 lbs) 344 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This lively and provocative book casts an anthropological eye on the field of science in a wide-ranging and innovative discussion that integrates philosophy, history, sociology, and auto-ethnography. Jonathan Marks examines biological anthropology, the history of the life sciences, and the literature of science studies while upending common understandings of science and culture with a mixture of anthropology, common sense, and disarming humor. Science, Marks argues, is widely accepted to be three things: a method of understanding and a means of establishing facts about the universe, the facts themselves, and a voice of authority or a locus of cultural power. This triple identity creates conflicting roles and tensions within the field of science and leads to its record of instructive successes and failures. Among the topics Marks addresses are the scientific revolution, science as thought and performance, creationism, scientific fraud, and modern scientific racism. Applying his considerable insight, energy, and wit, Marks sheds new light on the evolution of science, its role in modern culture, and its challenges for the twenty-first century. |