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A House Built on Sand: Exposing Postmodernist Myths About Science 1st Edition

by Noretta Koertge (Editor)

4.7 16 ratings

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Cultural critics say that "science is politics by other means," arguing that the results of scientific inquiry are profoundly shaped by the ideological agendas of powerful elites. They base their claims on historical case studies purporting to show the systematic intrusion of sexist, racist, capitalist, colonialist and/or professional interests into the very content of science. Physicist Alan Sokal recently poked fun at these claims by foisting a sly parody of the genre on the unwitting editors of the cultural studies journal Social Text touching off a still unabated torrent of editorials, articles, and heated classroom and Internet discussion.

This hard-hitting collection picks up where Sokal left off. The essayists offer crisp and detailed critiques of case studies offered by the cultural critics as evidence that scientific results tell us more about social context than they do about the natural world. Pulling no punches, they identify numerous crude factual blunders (e.g. that Newton never performed any experiments) and egregious errors of emission, such as the attempt to explain the slow development of fluid dynamics solely in terms of gender bias. Where there are positive aspects of a flawed account, or something to be learned from it, they do not hesitate to say so. Their target is shoddy scholarship.

Comprising new essays by distinguished scholars of history, philosophy, and science (including Sokal himself), this book raises a lively debate to a new level of seriousness.

ISBN-10

0195117255
ISBN-13

978-0195117257
Edition

1st
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

August 27, 1998
Language

English
Dimensions

9.42 x 6.41 x 1.1 inches
Print length

336 pages
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Helen Pluckrose
4,462
Hardcover
92 offers from $5.83

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book is the latest and most explosive bomb to be launched in the "science wars." Recently, a cadre of historians and philosophers of science have attempted to deconstruct the scientific process by examining its underlying social metaphors. Many scholars, especially practicing scientists, view these efforts with undisguised disdain. The essays here, which are by scientists and philosophers, debunk postmodernist science studies by exposing their purported biases, errors, and fallacies. Essentially, they deconstruct the deconstructionists. For example, Michael Ruse asks, "Is Darwinism Sexist?" while Alan Sokal tackles "What the Social Text Affair Does and Does Not Approve." Although some olive branches are extended, the overall tone is aggressive. Academics on both sides of the debate will need this book. Expect a counterattack.?Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, FL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Editor Koertge offers an excellent array of writings dealing with controversies that have arisen in connection with science studies and the so-called 'Science Wars.'"--Choice

"This book is the latest and most explosive bomb to be launched in the 'science' wars.'...Academics on both sides of the debate will need this book. Expect a counterattack."--Library Journal

"A thoughtful, wide-ranging, spirited, and highly informative collection. The sophisticated case for objectivity is fully developed in these expert pages."--Frederick Crews, author of The Memory Wars (1995) and editor of Unauthorized Freud: Doubters Confront a Legend (1998)

"Critics as well as admirers of science will find in these essays much that deserves to be taken to heart, head, and hearth. Large wings of the rambling postmodern house suffer from shoddy work or sandy footing. This should help both cultural scholars and scientists to find bedrock for sturdy construction rather than cynical deconstruction."--Dudley Herschback, Harvard University

"There is no more important debate than that going on now between those who believe that the scientific approach to knowledge is at root a force for democracy and progress and those who instead believe that democracy requires for its development a repudiation of the claim that science provides a universal and rational framework for thought in favor of a broad epistemic relativism. This book captures a significant moment in this debate and should be required reading for anyone interested in the language and values we will use to shape our common future."--Lee Smolin, Pennsylvania State University

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (August 27, 1998)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195117255
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195117257
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1510L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.38 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.42 x 6.41 x 1.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,314,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,148 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)
- #22,143 in Science & Mathematics
- #63,785 in Philosophy (Books)

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4.7 16 ratings

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A balanced look at a strange phenomenom

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 28, 2000

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This book is a collection of essays, and as is usual in such an anthology, the quality of the writing and of the arguments is variable. However, the editor did a terrific job of selecting writers who understand their topics, are not too terribly polemical, and write well enough to articulate their viewpoints.
The book ranges over a variety of responses to the post-modernist attack on science. I found the book quite informative on the content of the anti-science arguments, and while I have not read all of them, the ones I have read are reported fairly in this book. Then they are demolished.
Ini a similar way, I am only competent to judge about half of the science that is presented in the book, but again, what I do know independently is described accurately and articulately in this volume. This book shows that it is possible to write coherently about science and about social issues at the same time. I found the book useful in my attempt to understand the anti-science attacks more clearly than I had been able to do on my own, and I enjoyed the elegant, spirited rebuttals. Read this book, and then think for yourself. You should enjoy the process, no matter which side of the argument you end up on.

47 people found this helpful

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S. Plowright

Triumph of Reason

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 21, 2005

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An excellent collection of essays highlighting the absurdities and potential dangers of the recent fad for the rejection of rationality.

The arguments presented are clear and calm. There is no resort to ridicule, no matter how ridiculous the POMO examples are. The only counter criticisms of this collection seem to amount to "Boo Hoo, why are you picking on poor post-modernists". A bit rich when you really start to understand what the post-modernists have been doing to the pursuit of knowledge.

If Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World" were made part of the high school curriculum, I do not think the POMO academics would have been able to fool so many for so long. They would have taken their righful place beside the conspiracy theorists, channellers, New Agers, and UFOlogists.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in clear and readable accounts illustrating the deceptive and flawed claims of some of the most popular Postmodernist academics.

20 people found this helpful

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Peter Sweeney

I good expose, well written

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2015

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Post-modernity and Liberal theology is exactly that a house built on sand. I good expose, well written.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2018

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Excelent condition. I have started reading yet.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 7, 2013

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This book, along with ":Higher Superstition" and "Fashionable Nonsense" is full of delicious information regarding the nonsense and irrationality of hyper-modernism. But it is a tedious read, and I haven't even bothered to finish reading it.

3 people found this helpful

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Koparcener

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 25, 2017

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A critique of postmodernist influence in social sciences and academia

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 11, 2014

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Excellent book, excellent service!!

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Counterstrike from the besieged

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 21, 2003

Noretta Koertge deserves the highest praise for assembling this group of essays. Anyone feeling the "postmodernist" assault on literature or philosophy has deteriorated will learn that science remains besieged by the cult of "cultural relativism". Each author provides a counterstrike against selected issues the "pomos" have launched to discredit science and/or scientists. In brief, postmodern attacks on science are uniformly devoid of understanding how science works. The critics of science distort history, fabricate or selectively edit texts and create meaningless issues. The collection illuminates these practices, exposing a wealth of poor scholarship and specious reasoning.
The writing quality in these selections is uniformly good, although some topics may prove difficult for readers unfamiliar with the material. "Superstring" theory, for example, is perhaps the most arcane topic in physics, but Norman Levitt underscores its importance in a finely developed essay on the future of science. Difficult subjects may cause some readers to avoid delving into this collection as being too remote. Never fear - this anthology has urgent value for you. To best understand why, you should read this series starting near the back. Koertge's essay on the impact of postmodernism on education is more than a little frightening. Koertge labels the application of "pomo" on education as "Civilian Casualties", amply demonstrating why this book should receive wide readership. She clearly demonstrates how far ideology attempts, and to some extent succeeds, in distorting the teaching of many fields such as mathematics.
While the essays cover a wide spectrum of topics, a recurring theme is the impact of "feminist" writers. Feminist attacks on science hinge on the dominant role men have played in science in the past. Instead of simply calling for more women to enter research fields, feminist ideologues blitz the entire scientific programme. Koertge and the others here demonstrate that science and mathematics teaching is being politicised. "Feminist science", whatever that is, aims to revise fundamentally how science is done. These essays confirm that ambition is misleading and destructive. Yet, as the collection clearly shows, this objective has permeated North American education and media. "Ethnoscience", a derivative of the feminist ideology and purporting to supplant empirical science methods, is in ascendancy here and elsewhere. Koertge and her colleagues examine and repudiate the underlying concepts of this movement. A telling essay by Meera Nanda shows how postmodernist ideology has invaded the Third World in fomenting bad science in the name of ultra-nationalism and against a perceived "neo-colonialism" from the West. Proponents of "Islamic Science" have openly adopted Western feminist writers in their tactics.
This book is a campaign document, but shouldn't be faulted for that. It is, after all, responding to a crusade eroding three centuries of effort by dedicated researchers and thinkers. Science is fundamental to our daily living, something its transparency leads us to forget. These authors restore the respect science deserves. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

52 people found this helpful

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