Cogent Science In Context

A proposal for an interdisciplinary, context-sensitive framework for assessing the strength of scientific arguments that melds Jürgen Habermas's discourse theory and sociological contextualism. Recent years have seen a series of intense, increasingly acrimonious debates over the status and legitimacy of the natural sciences. These “science wars” take place in the public arena—with current battles over evolution and global warming—and in academia, where assumptions about scientific objectivity have been called into question. Given these hostilities, what makes a scientific claim merit our consideration? In Cogent Science in Context, William Rehg examines what makes scientific arguments cogent—that is, strong and convincing—and how we should assess that cogency. Drawing on the tools of argumentation theory, Rehg proposes a multidimensional, context-sensitive framework both for understanding the cogency of scientific arguments and for conducting cooperative interdisciplinary assessments of the cogency of actual scientific arguments. Rehg closely examines Jürgen Habermas's argumentation theory and its implications for understanding cogency, applying it to a case from high-energy physics. A series of problems, however, beset Habermas's approach. In response, Rehg outlines his own “critical contextualist” approach, which uses argumentation-theory categories in a new and more context-sensitive way inspired by ethnography of science.

The work of Jürgen Habermas (b. 1929) has been highly influential both in philosophy and across many disciplines in the social sciences. David Ingram here provides an accessible introduction to Habermas's complex thought as it has evolved from 1953 to the present, spanning philosophy, religion, political science, social science, and law. One of today's most intriguing thinkers, Habermas is also notably prolific; for students and other readers who wish to navigate the philosopher's more than thirty books, the lucid and precise Habermas: Introduction and Analysis is a welcome starting point rich in insights. Ingram's book addresses the entire range of Habermas's social theory, including his most recent and widely discussed contributions to religion, freedom and determinism, global democracy, and the consolidation of the European Union. Recognizing Habermas's position as a highly public intellectual, Ingram discusses how Habermas applies his own theory to pressing problems such as abortion, terrorism, genetic engineering, immigration, multiculturalism, separation of religion and state, technology and mass media, feminism, and human rights. He also presents a detailed critical analysis of Habermas's key claims and arguments. Separate appendixes introduce and clarify such important concepts as causal, teleological, and narrative paradigms of explanation in action theory; contextualism versus rationalism in social scientific methods of interpretation; systems theory and functionalist explanation in social science; and decision and collective choice theory.

This book develops a conception of science as a multi-dimensional practice, which includes experimental action and production, conceptual-theoretical interpretation, and formal-mathematical work. On this basis, it addresses the topical issue of scientific realism and expounds a detailed, referentially realist account of the natural sciences. This account is shown to be compatible with the frequent occurrence of conceptual discontinuities in the historical development of the sciences. Referential realism exploits several fruitful ideas of Jürgen Habermas, especially his distinction between objectivity and truth; it builds on a in-depth analysis of scientific experiments, including their material realization; and it is developed through an extensive case study in the history and philosophy of quantum mechanics. The new postscript explains how the book relates to several important issues in recent philosophy of science and science studies. “I highly recommend this book. Radder is probably the first philosopher of science to make productive epistemological use of the notion of ‘experimental system’. The postscript is most valuable since it connects his work not only to the topical debates in philosophy of science, but also to history of science and science studies.” Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin About the first edition: “The debate on realism has recently become rather stale by repetition, but Radder introduces original insights and has written a lively and well-argued contribution to it. The book is to be recommended also as a clear introduction to the complex of relevant issues.” Mary Hesse, University of Cambridge “Radder presents an ingenious approach to the issue of scientific realism and conceptual discontinuity. I believe his idea that conceptual discontinuity presupposes other types of continuity is extremely important.” Mark Rowlands, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa Hans Radder is professor of philosophy of science and technology at VU University Amsterdam. He is the author of In and About the World and The World Observed/The World Conceived. He edited The Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation and The Commodification of Academic Research: Science and the Modern University, and is coeditor of Science Transformed? Debating Claims of an Epochal Break.

The book is an attempt to bring together what are often seen as incommensurable scientific and philosophical positions. Its core argument is that a main reason for the divisions about what constitutes scientific knowledge relates to disagreements on philosophical issues. The book explores what these disagreements are about, and discusses whether they can be overcome. Taking a historical perspective, the book traces the divides in science back to three main philosophical traditions: realism, idealism, and scepticism. It maps how these have inspired three main current positions in science: logical empiricism, phenomenology, and sociology of scientific knowledge. The book is intended for a general audience concerned with today’s debates on scientific knowledge and society. It will be useful for students and researchers studying philosophy of science, sociology of scientific knowledge, realism, phenomenology, positivism, logical empiricism, analytical philosophy, and sustainable scientific knowledge.

This book provides original perspectives on the work of one of the most important thinkers in international law today.

New materialism challenges the mechanistic models characteristic of early modern philosophy that regarded matter as largely passive and inert. Instead it gives weight to topics often overlooked in such accounts: agency, vitalism, complexity, contingency, and self-organization. This collection, which includes an international roster of contributors from philosophy, history, literature, and science, is the first to ask what is "new" about the new materialism and place it in interdisciplinary perspective. Against current theories of new materialism it argues for a deeper engagement with materialism's history, questions whether matter can be "lively," and asks whether new materialism's wish to revitalize politics and the political lives up to its promise. Contributors: Keith Ansell-Pearson, Sarah Ellenzweig, Christian J. Emden, N. Katherine Hayles, Jess Keiser, Mogens Laerke, Ian Lowrie, Lenny Moss, Angela Willey, Catherine Wilson, Charles T. Wolfe, Derek Woods, and John H. Zammito.

This book addresses the ideological figure of modernity, its presumed historical significance as an era, and its theoretical adequacy as a frame. It shows how science is evoked to prevent the sociological imagination from elaborating non-Eurocentric categories and terminologies that are more adequate for a global age. The idea of modernity should not only be contested, but radically unthought in its foundational assumptions. These assumptions inform concepts such as secularization, emancipation, the 'global' and accumulation of capital. This book frees these concepts from ethnocentrism and discloses a path toward a new, non-Eurocentric, global social theory. Gennaro Ascione explores the transformative potential of decolonizing knowledge through a radical reconsideration of the historical and epistemological role that the intellectual reference to science plays in the construction of concepts. This ground-breaking work challenges social theorists to think globally beyond modernity, bringing together social theory and science in an unprecedented way. Importantly, it makes accessible a new space of missing theorization for further developments and inquiries in the field.

To the surprise of many readers, Jürgen Habermas has recentlymade religion a major theme of his work. Emphasizing bothreligion's prominence in the contemporary public sphere and itspotential contributions to critical thought, Habermas's engagementwith religion has been controversial and exciting, putting much ofhis own work in fresh perspective and engaging key themes inphilosophy, politics and social theory. Habermas argues that the once widely accepted hypothesis ofprogressive secularization fails to account for the multipletrajectories of modernization in the contemporary world. He callsattention to the contemporary significance of "postmetaphysical"thought and "postsecular" consciousness - even in Western societiesthat have embraced a rationalistic understanding of publicreason. Habermas and Religion presents a series of original andsustained engagements with Habermas's writing on religion in thepublic sphere, featuring new work and critical reflections fromleading philosophers, social and political theorists, andanthropologists. Contributors to the volume respond both toHabermas's ambitious and well-developed philosophical project andto his most recent work on religion. The book closes with anextended response from Habermas - itself a major statement from oneof today's most important thinkers.