Overview

"From Einstein's quest for a unified field theory to Stephen Hawking's belief that we ""would know the mind of God"" through such a theory, contemporary science—and physics in particular—has claimed that it alone possesses absolute knowledge of the universe. In a sweeping work of philosophical inquiry, originally published in French in seven volumes, Isabelle Stengers builds on her previous intellectual accomplishments to explore the role and authority of science in modern societies and to challenge its pretensions to objectivity, rationality, and truth."

Full Product Details

Author:   Isabelle Stengers ,  Robert Bononno
Publisher:   University of Minnesota Press
Imprint:   University of Minnesota Press
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780816656868

ISBN 10:   081665686
Pages:   272
Publication Date:   13 July 2010
Audience:   General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   In Print  
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Preface, Book I. The Science Wars, 1. Scientific Passions, 2. The Neutrino’s Paradoxical Mode of Existence, 3. Culturing the Pharmakon?, 4. Constraints, 5. Introductions, 6. The Question of Unknowns, Book II. The Invention of Mechanics: Power and Reason, 7. The Power of Physical Laws, 8. The Singularity of Falling Bodies, 9. The Lagrangian Event, 10. Abstract Measurement: Putting Things to Work, 11. Heat at Work, 12. The Stars, Like Blessed Gods, 13. If We Could . . ., Book III. Thermodynamics: the Crisis of Physical Reality, 14. The Threefold Power of the Queen of Heaven, 15. Anamnesis, 16. Energy is Conserved!, 17. The Not So Profound Mystery of Entropy, 18. The Obligations of the Physicist, 19. Percolation, 20. In Place of an Epilogue, Notes, Index

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Author Information

Isabelle Stengers is professor of philosophy at the Free University of Brussels. Among her other books available in English are The Invention of Modern Science (Minnesota, 2000) and Power and Invention: Situating Science (Minnesota, 1997). Robert Bononno, a teacher and translator, lives in New York City. His most recent translation is Psychoanalysis and the Challenge of Islam (Minnesota, 2009).

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