The Constitution of Science

Introduces the idea of a 'Constitution of Science' as a means for protecting the foundations of science.

C. Mantzavinos (Author)

9781009509176, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 December 2024

228 pages
23 x 15.3 x 1.2 cm, 0.342 kg

'This book will illuminate as much as it will challenge. It is a book that philosophers of science ought to read! … Recommended.' A. Jaeger, CHOICE

How can science be protected, by whom and at what level? If science is valued positively as the incubator of the most successful solutions to representational problems of reality as well as the basis of the most effective interventions in the natural and social world, then its constitutional foundations must be protected. This book develops a specific normative outlook on science by introducing the idea of a 'Constitution of Science'. Scientific activities are special kinds of epistemic problem-solving activities unfolding in an institutional context. The scientific enterprise is a social process unfolding within an intricate institutional framework that structures the daily activities of scientists and shapes their outcomes. Those institutions of science which are of the highest generality make up the 'Constitution of Science' and are of fundamental importance for channelling the scientific process effectively.

Introduction
1. The scaffolds humans erect on science
2. Science and values
3. Normativity
4. The informal institutions of science
5. Core scientific activities: explanation and interpretation
6. The formal institutions of science
7. The search for an adequate constitution
8. Five principles for a quasi-autonomous science
Epilogue: The constitution of science is written in the heart of the scientists
Excursus: The value-free ideal for science
References.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of science [PDA]