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The Advancement of Science: Science Without Legend, Objectivity Without Illusions by Philip Kitcher
alexander0's review against another edition
3.0
This book was greatly inspiring to my own work. It offers a philosophical formulation of Thomas Kuhn's "Structure" which is much closer to application than nearly all of the work prior, and yet it maintains really close relation to my understanding of what Thomas Kuhn meant. This work provides an excellent road map to some of the problems presented in prior epistemics, such that most realist (strong or weak) thinkers can develop their thoughts a little more concretely on the subject of philosophy and social studies of science and science knowledge.
Although the book itself had terrible timing. Had this book been developed in the early 1980s, perhaps augmentation to the sociology of science field would have put it on an entirely different trajectory, but alas. Much of the technical work on research games at the end is terribly simple, in my view, and needs to be adjusted such that it accounts for all of the varieties of options simultaneously rather than dealing with games individually as disjoint notions.
Also, the author focuses rather strongly on the the fallibility of individual cognizance, and how it can be used in the social relationship of science. I think from an empirical standpoint, this is rather hasty when such issues of sociology need revision first. We need a development of a more accurate social organization of scientific information prior to claiming how psychology affects these organizations.
All in all very inspiring, and helpful to anyone interested in the more philosophical and potential technical outcomes of social science of scientific process.
Although the book itself had terrible timing. Had this book been developed in the early 1980s, perhaps augmentation to the sociology of science field would have put it on an entirely different trajectory, but alas. Much of the technical work on research games at the end is terribly simple, in my view, and needs to be adjusted such that it accounts for all of the varieties of options simultaneously rather than dealing with games individually as disjoint notions.
Also, the author focuses rather strongly on the the fallibility of individual cognizance, and how it can be used in the social relationship of science. I think from an empirical standpoint, this is rather hasty when such issues of sociology need revision first. We need a development of a more accurate social organization of scientific information prior to claiming how psychology affects these organizations.
All in all very inspiring, and helpful to anyone interested in the more philosophical and potential technical outcomes of social science of scientific process.
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