History of Science & Knowledge

Why Trust Science?

    Contributions by
  • Ottmar Edenhofer
  • Jon Krosnick
  • M. Susan Lindee
  • Marc Lange
  • Martin Kowarsch
    Edited by
  • Stephen Macedo
    Narrator
  • Kerry Shale
  • Richard Lyddon

This provocative audiobook reveals why the social character of scientific knowledge makes it trustworthy
Featuring narration by Kelly Burke, John Chancer, Nancy Crane, Richard Lyddon, and Kerry Shale


Audio

30% off with code PUP30

Sale Price:
$17.47/£14.00
Price:
$24.95/£20.00
ISBN:
Published:
Oct 22, 2019
2019
Illus:
2 b/w illus. 1 table.
Runtime:
8 hours 27 minutes
Main_subject:
History of Science & Knowledge
Buy This

Do doctors really know what they are talking about when they tell us vaccines are safe? Should we take climate experts at their word when they warn us about the perils of global warming? Why should we trust science when our own politicians don’t? In this landmark book, Naomi Oreskes offers a bold and compelling defense of science, revealing why the social character of scientific knowledge is its greatest strength—and the greatest reason we can trust it.

Tracing the history and philosophy of science from the late nineteenth century to today, Oreskes explains that, contrary to popular belief, there is no single scientific method. Rather, the trustworthiness of scientific claims derives from the social process by which they are rigorously vetted. This process is not perfect—nothing ever is when humans are involved—but she draws vital lessons from cases where scientists got it wrong. Oreskes shows how consensus is a crucial indicator of when a scientific matter has been settled, and when the knowledge produced is likely to be trustworthy.

Based on the Tanner Lectures on Human Values at Princeton University, this timely and provocative book features critical responses by climate experts Ottmar Edenhofer and Martin Kowarsch, political scientist Jon Krosnick, philosopher of science Marc Lange, and science historian Susan Lindee, as well as a foreword by political theorist Stephen Macedo.


Awards and Recognition

  • New Zealand Listener's Best Book of 2019
  • One of FiveBooks' Best Climate Books of 2019