Why Trust Science?
Ratings2
Average rating4
This book explains why the social character of scientific knowledge makes it trustworthy and why social character is its greatest strength--for example, why we should trust doctors on vaccine safety, or climate experts on the perils of global warming. It traces the history and philosophy of science from the late nineteenth century to today, and explains that the trustworthiness of scientific claims derives from the social process by which they are rigorously vetted.
Series
Featured Series
21 released booksThe University Center for Human Values Series
The University Center for Human Values Series is a 21-book series with 21 released primary works first released in 1992 with contributions by Charles Taylor, Amy Gutmann, and Antonin Scalia.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Chapter 1 was too repetitive and circumlocutory which is always bad news since many would drop the book if the starting is not strong, but I kept going and it turned out to be the right decision. Latter the theories turned out to be quite persuasive along with complementary examples and occasional sprinkles of historical/contemporary philosophy of scientific belief. I also like the format DR Oreskes went on to simplify various scepticism, misconceptions and biases. The cherry on top was the last bit where some experts expressed their queries about scientific trust on the basis of dr Oreskes's lecture at Stanford (prior to the publication of this book) and Dr Oreskes's responses.
4/5 stars
I highly recommend it if you like to read the history of science or the philosophy of scientific belief.
