The sciences and humanities in a unity of knowledge / Mariam Thalos. Against border patrols / Maarten Boudry -- Scientism and the argument from supervenience of the mental on the physical / Filip Buekens -- Two cheers for scientism / Taner Edis -- Scientism and the is/ought gap / Justin Kalef -- The trouble with scientism: why history and the humanities are also a form of knowledge / Philip Kitcher -- "Scientism!" / Stephen Law -- Strong realism as scientism: are we at the end of history? / Thomas Nickles -- The fundamental argument against scientism / Rik Peels -- Scientism and pseudoscience: in defense of demarcation projects / Massimo Pigliucci -- Strong scientism and its research agenda / Alex Rosenberg -- Economics and allegations of scientism / Don Ross -- Why really good science doesn't have all the answers / Michael Ruse -- Scientism (and other problems) in experimental philosophy / Tom Sorell -- Against border patrols / Mariam Thalos.
Summary:
"All too often in contemporary discourse, we hear about science overstepping its proper limits--about its brazenness, arrogance, and intellectual imperialism. The problem, critics say, is scientism: the privileging of science over all other ways of knowing. Science, they warn, cannot do or explain everything, no matter what some enthusiasts believe. In Science Unlimited?, noted philosophers of science Maarten Boudry and Massimo Pigliucci gather a diverse group of scientists, science communicators, and philosophers of science to explore the limits of science and this alleged threat of scientism. In this wide-ranging collection, contributors ask whether the term scientism in fact (or in belief) captures an interesting and important intellectual stance, and whether it is something that should alarm us. Is scientism a well-developed position about the superiority of science over all other modes of human inquiry? Or is it more a form of excessive confidence, an uncritical attitude of glowing admiration? What, if any, are its dangers? Are fears that science will marginalize the humanities and eradicate the human subject--that it will explain away emotion, free will, consciousness, and the mystery of existence--justified? Does science need to be reined in before it drives out all other disciplines and ways of knowing? Both rigorous and balanced, Science Unlimited? interrogates our use of a term that is now all but ubiquitous in a wide variety of contexts and debates. Bringing together scientists and philosophers, both friends and foes of scientism, it is a conversation long overdue" -- From the publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.