Overview

Drawing upon a sequence of the most important breakthroughs in the history of science, Timothy McGettigan's Good Science develops a ground-breaking argument about the evolution of social reality. From Galileo to Einstein and beyond, landmark achievements in science have redefined conceptions of the universe. Indeed, science has also modified the real world by transforming fantasies, such as space travel and thinking computers, into commonplace features of everyday reality. Though science has routinely produced marvels of thought and technology, scientific achievements have also brought about dire threats to human existence, such as overpopulation, ecological disaster, and nuclear annihilation. As such, science must be understood as the most important, and simultaneously, the most hazardous invention that humans have ever conceived. Nevertheless, Good Science asserts that the fortunes of humanity have always been closely tied to the pursuit of more and better knowledge. Thus, imperfect as it may be, science represents the best available means of confronting global crises and creating abundant opportunities for humanity to thrive in the future. Those interested in science, sociology, and what the future holds for both will appreciate this critical and informative work.   View a YouTube video created by the author here.    

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Reviews

Good Science provides a provocative and accessible discussion of the social and philosophical complexities of scientific knowledge. Science, it turns out, is best when it becomes messy, and the messy issues of truth, reality, and technology are examined and clarified, through historical cases, in this excellent and insightful study. -- Will Wright Working theoretically from an evolving standard of truth, Professor McGettigan takes the reader through major issues in science that detail how we move from A to B to C. That is to say, inside of 200 pages of beautifully written text we are taken on a journey, a tour de force, that ends with an analysis of the information society - a movement from gigantic tons of computers that would never fit into a home living room to iPhones--that can do the same sort of computing, if not more, that can fit neatly in a vest pocket. Good Science: The Pursuit of Truth and the Evolution of Reality, by professor Timothy McGettigan is an exceptional read. It not only charts the revolutions in science, but along the way he shows that none of it is devoid of human contact and influence: sometimes good, sometimes not so good. This important text powerfully addresses in a lively way, the sometimes-drab world of science so hidden from human inspection. This book is a must for any reader trying to understand the trajectories science, policy and the human condition. -- Smith, Earl

Good Science provides a provocative and accessible discussion of the social and philosophical complexities of scientific knowledge. Science, it turns out, is best when it becomes messy, and the messy issues of truth, reality, and technology are examined and clarified, through historical cases, in this excellent and insightful study. Will Wright, Colorado State University - Pueblo

Good Science provides a provocative and accessible discussion of the social and philosophical complexities of scientific knowledge.  Science, it turns out, is best when it becomes messy, and the messy issues of truth, reality, and technology are examined and clarified, through historical cases, in this excellent and insightful study. -- Will Wright, Colorado State University-Pueblo Working theoretically from an evolving standard of truth, Professor McGettigan takes the reader through major issues in science that detail how we move from A to B to C. That is to say, inside of 200 pages of beautifully written text we are taken on a journey, a tour de force, that ends with an analysis of the information society - a movement from gigantic tons of computers that would never fit into a home living room to iPhones—that can do the same sort of computing, if not more, that can fit neatly in a vest pocket. Good Science: The Pursuit of Truth and the Evolution of Reality, by professor Timothy McGettigan is an exceptional read. It not only charts the revolutions in science, but along the way he shows that none of it is devoid of human contact and influence: sometimes good, sometimes not so good. This important text powerfully addresses in a lively way, the sometimes-drab world of science so hidden from human inspection. This book is a must for any reader trying to understand the trajectories science, policy and the human condition. -- Earl Smith, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University, author of Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives Are Surveilled and How to Work for Change. McGettigan...makes an enjoyable and wide-ranging case for forging ahead. * Washington State Magazine *

Author Information

Timothy McGettigan is professor of sociology at Colorado State University - Pueblo.

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