The Frontiers of Theory This series brings together internationally respected figures to comment on and re-describe the state of theory in the twenty-first century. It takes stock of an ever-expanding field of knowledge and opens up possible new modes of inquiry within it, identifying new theoretical pathways, innovative thinking and productive motifs. Scandalous Knowledge - Science, Truth and the Human Barbara Herrnstein Smith Barbara Herrnstein Smith's new book explores the radical reconceptions of knowledge and science emerging from such fields as the history, sociology, and philosophy of science and contemporary cognitive science. Focused on constructivist epistemology and the rise of social studies of scientific knowledge, Scandalous Knowledge offers an extensively informed perspective on these challenging developments and a systematic examination of their currently contested intellectual, institutional, ethical, and political implications.
Smith reviews the key issues involved in the twentieth-century critiques of traditional rationalist, realist, positivist views of human knowledge and scientific truth and discusses in detail the alternative accounts produced by Ludwik Fleck, Thomas Kuhn, Michel Foucault, Bruno Latour, and others. Addressing the various anxieties (e.g., over 'relativism'), scandals, and 'wars' occasioned by these developments, she contextualizes them historically and argues that they are largely misplaced, spurious, or fought against phantom adversaries. She goes on to examine the grandiose claims and dublous methods of evolutionary psychology, comparing them to current constructivist-interactionist approaches to human development, cognition, and culture. Finally, Smith turns to the complex play of naturalist, humanist, and posthumanist ideologies in contemporary debates about the relation - or divide - between humans and animals.
Industry Reviews
Scandalously unimpressed by the charges, countercharges, and 'prudent' middle paths found in current disputes over science and truth, Barbara Herrnstein Smith deploys her ferocious intelligence, wicked wit, and broad understanding to provide us with a tonic mixture of empathy and resources for taking positions that are both informed and responsible. She does not flinch before the barrage of outrages; neither, this book in hand, need we. -- Susan Oyama, author of Evolution's Eye: A Systems View of the Biology-Culture Divide Professor Herrnstein Smith's work is known for its rigor, clarity, and cogency. The chief contribution of this book is to present a more historical, complex, and nuanced discussion of the epistemological issues at stake in the "science wars" than has hitherto been the norm. -- N. Katherine Hayles, John Charles Hillis Professor of Literature, English Department, University of California, Los Angeles Scandalously unimpressed by the charges, countercharges, and 'prudent' middle paths found in current disputes over science and truth, Barbara Herrnstein Smith deploys her ferocious intelligence, wicked wit, and broad understanding to provide us with a tonic mixture of empathy and resources for taking positions that are both informed and responsible. She does not flinch before the barrage of outrages; neither, this book in hand, need we. Professor Herrnstein Smith's work is known for its rigor, clarity, and cogency. The chief contribution of this book is to present a more historical, complex, and nuanced discussion of the epistemological issues at stake in the "science wars" than has hitherto been the norm.
