Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society: Latour, Bruno: 9780674792913: Amazon.com: Books

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Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society Paperback – October 15, 1988

by Bruno Latour (Author)

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Science and technology have immense authority and influence in our society, yet their working remains little understood. The conventional perception of science in Western societies has been modified in recent years by the work of philosophers, sociologists and historians of science. In this book Bruno Latour brings together these different approaches to provide a lively and challenging analysis of science, demonstrating how social context and technical content are both essential to a proper understanding of scientific activity. Emphasizing that science can only be understood through its practice, the author examines science and technology in action: the role of scientific literature, the activities of laboratories, the institutional context of science in the modern world, and the means by which inventions and discoveries become accepted. From the study of scientific practice he develops an analysis of science as the building of networks. Throughout, Bruno Latour shows how a lively and realistic picture of science in action alters our conception of not only the natural sciences but also the social sciences and the sociology of knowledge in general.

This stimulating book, drawing on a wealth of examples from a wide range of scientific activities, will interest all philosophers, sociologists and historians of science, scientists and engineers, and students of the philosophy of social science and the sociology of knowledge.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harvard University Press
Publication date

October 15, 1988
Dimensions

5.96 x 0.63 x 8.92 inches
ISBN-10

0674792912
ISBN-13

978-0674792913
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“One cannot but be impressed by the scope of Latour’s work… This is no mere bricolage, but a coherent and powerful framework for research. I predict that Science in Action will have an impact comparable to Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions both as a provocation to philosophers and as an inspiration to sociologists and historians of science.”―Nicholas Jardine, Times Literary Supplement

“This account of science as composed of drifting, recombining networks is presented with considerable charm and humour. There are many brief case histories to enliven the text, and the book works very well as a guide through scientific reasoning.”―Steven Yearly, Nature

“Latour’s Science in Action is a ‘must read’ for all sociologists, not just because the sociology of science is a dynamic and growing subdiscipline, but more importantly because Latour’s thesis challenges the notions that underlie sociologists’ efforts to distinguish our field as a ‘science’… Latour’s thesis is that science, including sociology, is collective action and that facticity is a consequence, not a cause, of collective action… An excellent and enjoyable introduction to the sociology of science.”―Joan H. Fujimura, Contemporary Sociology

“There is a wealth of material and some titillating insight into discoveries beginning with the framed race to find the structure of DNA―the double helix―and in Latour’s hands, it becomes a true cliffhanger… This [book] will reward those who want to probe science and the modern world in depth.”―Kirkus Reviews

“This book argues that science is a social activity… The message is important… The book is convincing and informative.”―Kenneth P. Ruscio, Science Books & Films

About the Author

Bruno Latour was Professor Emeritus at Sciences Po Paris. He was the 2021 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy and was awarded the 2013 Holberg International Memorial Prize.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; Revised ed. edition (October 15, 1988)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674792912
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674792913
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.96 x 0.63 x 8.92 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #659,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #713 in History of Technology
- #2,430 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences
- #2,929 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

Customer Reviews:
27 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

27 global ratings

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3 star		13%
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Frank T. Manheim

A keen but "disinterested" observer more affordable by France than the U.S.?

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2009

One can sympathize with the engineer who wanted to throw the Latour's book at the wall. "Engineers do, while scientists discover and write". Latour is not about coming to firm conclusions, identifying and clarifying problems, and providing cogent summaries of scientists' activities. One could perhaps describe him in terms of a hypothetical analogy involving a disinterested sportscaster at a university. The sportscaster does not identify with or root for a given team. He doesn't provide statistics on comparative performance of players. Rather, he makes eclectic observations about sports, like comparing the weight range for football players with that of championship tennis players; racial breakdowns by sport, critical skills involved in different sports, characterizing audiences and fans of each sport, and perhaps tracing typical histories of players as they rise to high achievement in their sports.

Latour is an observer (and also a writer) of sophistication. However, France can perhaps afford his kind of detached exploration better at the present time than can the U.S. We have current crises that are less serious in France. These include domestic conflict over global climate change policy; and lack of communication between interest groups, and consequences of longstanding avoidance of political policy problems like systems for sustainable support of major social services. My my own preference is that our scientific and conceptual talent move more from the Latour model to that of the engineer!

8 people found this helpful

Looks like a new one!

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

It suprised me! Cause the price was lower than the others. Thus I was not expecting a new non used book. I appreciate it.

detailed and tedious manner. Very hard to read

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2016

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The main point of the book is quite clear: the scientific processes is quite messy and social. The book is written in a very dense, detailed and tedious manner. Very hard to read.

One person found this helpful

A Deeply Engaging Read

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013

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Bruno Latour provides an excellent framework for understanding the production of scientific knowledge. His "black box" theory of the development of facts is a useful metaphor which can be extended beyond science studies into the other arenas of intellectual discourse and fact-making. Anyone interested in the social construction of knowledge should give this volume a close read.

2 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2018

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AMAZING!

Interesting, but Nearly Unreadable & Theory-Heavy

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2017

In "Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society", Bruno Latour works to offer a methodology for understanding the history of science, though he does not begin with the conclusion. Latour writes, “Our entry into science and technology will be through the back door of science in the making, not through the more grandiose entrance of ready made science” (pg. 4). To this end, he writes, “I simply wish to summarize their method and to sketch the ground that, sometimes unwittingly, they all have in common. In doing so I wish to help overcome two of the limitations of ‘science, technology and society’ studies that appear to me to thwart their impact, that is their organisation by discipline and by object” (pg. 16). Therefore, he writes, “We understand now why looking at earlier stages in the construction of facts and machines is more rewarding than remaining with the final stages. Depending on the type of modalities, people will be made to go along completely different paths” (pg. 25).
For his project, Latour forwards seven rules for studying science in action. Latour summarizes his first principle, writing, “The construction of facts and machines is a collective process” (pg. 29). His second rule asks followers “to look for the intrinsic qualities of any given statement but to look instead for all the transformations it undergoes later in other hands. This rule is the consequence of what I called our first principle: the fate of facts and machines is in the hands of later users” (pg. 59). Scientific instruments are necessary to Latour’s third rule, so he defines them more broadly than most. Latour writes, “An instrument, in this definition, is not every set-up which ends with a little window that allows someone to take a reading. A thermometer, a watch, a Geiger counter, all provide readings but are not considered as instruments as long as these readings are not used as the final layer of technical papers” (pg. 68). This leads to his third rule: “since the settlement of a controversy is the cause of Nature’s representation not the consequence, we can never use the outcome – Nature – to explain how and why a controversy has been settled” (pg. 99).
Latour continues, “Our fourth rule of method thus reads exactly like the third – the word ‘Society’ replacing the word ‘Nature’ – and then fuses the two together: since the settlement of a controversy is the cause of Society’s stability, we cannot use Society to explain how and why a controversy has been settled. We should consider symmetrically the efforts to enrol and control human and non-human resources” (pg. 144). Of his fifth rule of method, Latour writes, “We should be as undecided as the various actors we follow as to what technoscience is made of: to do so, every time an inside/outside division is built, we should follow the two sides simultaneously, making up a list, no matter how long and heterogeneous, of all those who do the work” (pg. 176). Of his sixth rule, he writes, “When faced with an accusation of irrationality, or simply with beliefs in something, we will never believe that people believe in things or are irrational, we will never look for which rule of logic has been broken, we will simply consider the angle, direction, movement and scale of the observer’s displacement” (pg. 213). Finally, Latour’s seventh rule offers a more fixed approach to studies of science. He writes, “What I propose, here, as a seventh rule of method, is in effect a moratorium on cognitive explanations of science and technology! I’d be tempted to propose a ten-year moratorium. If those who believe in miracles were so sure of their position, they would accept the challenge” (pg. 247).

3 people found this helpful

Kindle Formatting a Disjointed Mess

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2023

I purchased the Kindle version of the book and quickly returned it. The issue isn't Latour's content but the consistently sloppy formatting and sometimes incomprehensible editing choices. I had a copied chapter to compare the print and ebook version and these were some of the things that made the book nearly useless: complete lack of illustrations, lists of footnotes in German, many transferable format features of the book are not present (bolded key terms, italics, indented block quotes, etc.), the eBook's table of contents is utter chaos, and pagination retains the print version, causing confusion unless you have the print version handy. If you're a casual reader, the eBook's formatting issues might not be a deal breaker, but if you need something you can depend on, the go with the print book.

Buy and Keep Handy

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2014

One of the most helpful reads in history that I've read. This is a book that you KEEP, read and reread for years to come. The process of scientific evaluation is highly regarded for many reasons and this book enables you to participate in this exploration. I highly recommend.

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