the coming of science and technology studies Fuller, Steve Additional Author mixed material bibliography USA University of Wisconsin Press c1993 monographic en English

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xxii, 421 p. ; 24 cm. Science and Technology / Philosophy / Rhetoric "Fuller's book will appeal to the larger body of readers who found the ideas of Thom Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, and others in the 1960s relevant to methodological moues in their own disciplines. In the subsequent twenty years, the 'context' of science has widened to include social as well as historical factors, Steve Fuller is the first writer to attempt a comprehensive and forceful account of the intellectual situation created by this change He deals with questions about the ends of scientific rationality in functional, not merely formal, terms-Stephen Toulmin, Northwestern University Steve Fuller argues that the methods used in the emerging discipline of science and technology studies (STS) are potential tools for breaking down communica tion barriers that exist between disciplines within the academy and between the academy and society. He contends that STS scholars have empirically established the "constructed" character of academic knowledge, and he calls for all scholars to acknowledge the rhetorical component of knowledge production. In this new context, knowledge becomes a political entity that governs people and their effects rather than a thing or a property, Fuller advocates and demonstrates the infusion of moral and political considerations into questions that had been previ ously confined to epistemology and the philosophy of science. Fuller calls this position "social epistemology, a stance he has advocated in his earlier work. Here he offers a positive agenda of research, teaching, and politi cal action to deal with the complex problems of academic knowledge today. His four case studies reveal the social epistemologist engaged in delicate interdiscipli- nary negotiations between philosophy and psychology, sociology and cognitive science, political science and economics, and humanistic and social scientific approaches to the study of science itself. He shows that these negotiations have major implications, not only for the structure and function of the university but also for the conduct of academics in science policy forums. In addition, Fuller launches a spirited attack on those skeptical of his program, including cultural relativists in general and Stanley Fish in particular. Finally, Fuller includes descriptions of both a course of study and a projected utopia so as to invite read- ers to participate in "the end of knowledge" Steve Fuller is associate professor of science and technology studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Trained in history, philosophy, and sociology of science, he is the founding editor of the journal Social Epistemology and the author of two books, Social Epistemology and Philosophy of Science and Its Knowledge, Theory of Science Rhetoric Social sciences 1000299137708: Transformatio Library Bandung Theological Seminary 100 Ful p E10001436 Non Fiction 100 Ful p 261 1992-09-10 00:00:00 2024-08-16 17:45:23 machine generated