Review of History of Philosophy of Science Books

  Not all evidence proves, but all that proves is evidence   Karin Zachmann, Mariacarla Gadebusch Bondio, Saana Jukola, and Olga Sparschuch (eds.),  Evidence Contestation: Dealing with Dissent in Knowledge Societies . London and New York: Routledge, 2003, pp. xvi + 329. Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-032-21910-3.  OPEN ACCESS     There are many riddles that keep mankind in moving. Some have been with us since ancient times, others maybe just for a few days. Why people are unable to accept proven facts is probably one of the older ones. As well as how, when all the evidence and data have been lined up in favor of a certain point of view, why are people still able to act and believe contrary to it. The problem is perhaps similar to the ancient problem of weakness of will (akrasia) – if a person knows what is good for him, what is the right practice, why does he act contrary to it?   Evidence wars Recently, the tendency to fundamentally dispute, question, and disc...

  From method to attitude: science and pseudoscience   Lee McIntyre:  The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience . MIT Press, 2019. pp. 296. Hardcover ISBN  9780262039833     If something aspires for general interest and practical usage nowadays, the question of science, pseudoscience, and their relations are surely in frontline. When Lee McIntyre published his book (that was followed already by others, one of which will be reviewed here shortly) about  The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience , he could not think how its (even existential) relevance will grow day by day within a year. The global pandemic gave birth to new forms of science-denial, conspiracy theories, fraud, negligence, and mimicry of science – all of them presented new challenges, and old problems in new settings.             Demarcating science fro...

  Discerning experts: in the jungle of society and assessments   Michael Oppenheimer, Naomi Oreskes, Dale Jamieson, Keynin Brysee, Jessica O’Reilly, Matthew Shindell, and Milena Wazeck:  Discerning Experts—The Practices of Scientific Assessment for Environmental Policy , 2019, pp. xv + 281. Paperback ISBN 978-0-226-60201-1.  $ 38.   Over the past two years, the practices of the scientific community have become more transparent, thanks to Facebook, newspapers, and (v)blogs: scientists have reported on the state of their research, their opinions, and daily predictions, and politicians on what they think about the scientific community. In the case of the latter, we have seen many things: from outright rejection to blaming and delegating responsibility to total devotion, pro-government and opposition politicians have viewed the work and opinions of scholars in many ways. Let us add that scientists have spoken at least as many times in non-scientific matters as polit...

  The Untold Months of Einstein   Michael D. Gordin:  Einstein in Bohemia . Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2020, pp. xi + 343. Hardcover 978-0-691-17737-3. $29.95.     You probably heard already that Einstein moved between different places, worked here and there—he is mainly known, though, as a Berlin- and Princeton-based physicist. Although he was a German by born, he was a Swiss citizen, who spent a lot of time in Zurich. It is also quite known that he attended Prague as well, developed some ideas there, but it was just a quick, transitory phase towards the bigger and meaningful periods.             But things turn out to be quite different, of course, if you see them from a different angle. Michael D. Gordin has written recently an already well-quoted and notorious book about Einstein’s tiny time in Prague, situated in Bohemia. Einstein spent there only sixteen months between, Apri...

    Vaccines and humanized medicine   Maya J. Goldenberg,  Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science . Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021, pp. xii + 251. Hardcover ISBN  978-0-8229-4655-7.  $45.00     When Maya Goldenberg, philosopher at the University of Guelph, has started to write her book on  Vaccine Hesitancy , she did not have a clue that by the time of publication, it will be so actual. Many consider vaccines as the most effective preventing tool of the coronavirus pandemic, and though many countries are producing nice numbers, vaccines are still surrounded by uncertainty, misbeliefs, and mistrust. Goldenberg’s book will not change the world, of course, but her remarkable views and sop histicated approach will emerge from the literature.              In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a study in the world’s oldest journal,  The Lanc...

  From Common Good to a Theory and Practice of Common Good: Hans Radder on Technology, Science, and Society   Hans Radder:  From Commodification to the Common Good: Reconstructing Science, Technology, and Society . Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019, pp. x +299. Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-8229-4579-6,  $45.00. R     Technology, science, and society are terms that are notoriously interwoven on many levels, and famously hard to disentangle satisfactorily. In his latest book,  From Commodification to the Common Good: Reconstructing Science, Technology, and Science , Hans Radder did not try to make a sharp distinction between these fields to approach them separately. Rather, he made a novel book about how to consider science and technology within their social outfit in a systematic and organic form.             What drives Radder is a general concern about the historical development of sc...