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Title details for The Scientific Life by Steven Shapin - Available

The Scientific Life

A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation

by Steven Shapin
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Who are scientists? What kind of people are they? What capacities and virtues are thought to stand behind their considerable authority? They are experts—indeed, highly respected experts—authorized to describe and interpret the natural world and widely trusted to help transform knowledge into power and profit. But are they morally different from other people? The Scientific Life is historian Steven Shapin's story about who scientists are, who we think they are, and why our sensibilities about such things matter.
Conventional wisdom has long held that scientists are neither better nor worse than anyone else, that personal virtue does not necessarily accompany technical expertise, and that scientific practice is profoundly impersonal. Shapin, however, here shows how the uncertainties attending scientific research make the virtues of individual researchers intrinsic to scientific work. From the early twentieth-century origins of corporate research laboratories to the high-flying scientific entrepreneurship of the present, Shapin argues that the radical uncertainties of much contemporary science have made personal virtues more central to its practice than ever before, and he also reveals how radically novel aspects of late modern science have unexpectedly deep historical roots. His elegantly conceived history of the scientific career and character ultimately encourages us to reconsider the very nature of the technical and moral worlds in which we now live.
Building on the insights of Shapin's last three influential books, featuring an utterly fascinating cast of characters, and brimming with bold and original claims, The Scientific Life is essential reading for anyone wanting to reflect on late modern American culture and how it has been shaped.

  • Creators

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  • Release date

    August 1, 2009

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780226750170

    • PDF ebook

      • ISBN: 9780226750170
      • File size: 2889 KB
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  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2008
      Shapin (history of science, Harvard Univ.; "The Scientific Revolution") here examines science as a vocation. The practice of science, once a calling from God or, perhaps, a mere amateur's hobby, has come into its own as a profession, particularly following World War II. Shapin's sociological history documents this vocational evolution as he raises the following questions: How does the practice and authority of science relate to the virtues of its practitioners? Is academic science superior to the commercialization of science? How does industry compete for the best minds in science? Can the practice of scientific research be organized, team driven, and accountable to investors? Shapin addresses all these questions without weighing in with his personal opinions on the topic. The result is a thought-provoking challenge to the assumptions of scientific objectivity by science's practitioners and an acknowledgment of just how important the morality of scientists may be in the advancement and authority of knowledge. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.Scott Vieira, Johnson Cty. Lib., KS

      Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • PDF ebook
Kindle restrictions

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Languages

  • English

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