Understanding Scientific Prose (Rhetoric of the Human Sciences) [Paperback]

Jack Selzer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1993 | Series: Rhetoric of the Human Sciences

Examining science as a rhetorical enterprise, this book seizes upon one scientific essay—"The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme"—and probes it from many angles.  Written by prominent evolutionary theorists Stephen Jay Gould and Richard C. Lewontin and first published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London in 1979, the "Spandrels" article is both serious science and vivid prose. Applying methods inspired by Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Ferdinand de Saussure, and others, the contributors employ a range of interpretive strategies. Stephen Jay Gould adds his own comments, and the full text of the essay "Spandrels" is reproduced as an appendix. Applying methods inspired by Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Ferdinand de Saussure, and others, the contributors employ a range of interpretive strategies. Stephen Jay Gould adds his own comments, and the full text of the essay "Spandrels" is reproduced as an appendix.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fascinating.  .  .  .  I learned a great deal from these approaches, and had enormous fun."—Stephen Jay Gould

About the Author

Jack Selzer is professor of English at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of Kenneth Burke in Greenwich Village, published by University of Wisconsin Press, and is currently working on a sequel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 406 pages
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press; 1 edition (July 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0299139042
• ISBN-13: 978-0299139049
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)