Rescuing Reason
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Overview
The theories of method of Quine, Kuhn, Feyerabend, (amongst others) are discussed and related to the views of Marx, Foucault, Wittgenstein and Nietzsche as well as sociologists of science such as Mannheim and Bloor. The author provides a wide interpretative framework which links the doctrines espoused by many of these authors; it is argued that they inherit many of the difficulties in the Strong Programme in the sociology of "knowledge", and that they fail to reconcile the normativity of knowledge with their naturalism. It is argued that neither relativists, sceptics, nihilists, sociologists of "knowledge" nor the postmodernists successfully debunk the claims of rational explanation, far from it: these theorists presuppose much of the theory of methodology they deny.Synopsis
Nola (U. of Auckland, New Zealand) critically examines the theses of those postmodern thinkers who assert that science and knowledge are based upon social-political factors and relations of power rather than upon the application of rational principle s. The author begins by reviewing some of the central theories of scientific rationality and briefly examining the ideas of its detractors. Subsequent sections focus on the sociology of scientific knowledge, the views of Foucault, and the influence of Nietzsche. The volume does not contain a subject index. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR