The Nature of Science: Integrating Historical, Philosophical, and Sociological Perspectives

Awards:   Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2012 Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2012. Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2012
Author:   Fernando Espinoza
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN:  

9781442209527


Pages:   184
Publication Date:   09 September 2011
Recommended Age:   From 18 to 22 years
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Nature of Science: Integrating Historical, Philosophical, and Sociological Perspectives


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Awards

  • Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2012
  • Winner of Choice Magazine Outstanding Reference/Academic Book Award 2012.
  • Winner of Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2012

Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Fernando Espinoza
Publisher:   Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.40cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.295kg
ISBN:  

9781442209527


ISBN 10:   1442209526
Pages:   184
Publication Date:   09 September 2011
Recommended Age:   From 18 to 22 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Chapter 1: The Need for Scientific Literacy Chapter 2: The Origins of Accomplishing Tasks: From Individual to Organized Efforts Chapter 3: The Earliest Comprehensive and Rationalistic Syntheses Chapter 4: Knowing, Doing and the Inevitability of Curiosity and Exploration Chapter 5: From the Transcendent to the Temporal - A Transformative Experience Chapter 6: From Qualities to Quantities: The Mathematization of Nature Chapter 7: Internalizing Naturalistic Explanations: Benefit or Threat? Chapter 8: Dispensing with Philosophy and Entertaining Limits to Human Knowledge Chapter 9: Scientifically Speaking, We Know a Lot—or Do We? Chapter 10: The Need for a Context Chapter 11: The Rightful Place of Science in Society Chapter 12: Concluding Reflections Appendices Notes Index About the Author

Reviews

Espinoza (SUNY College at Old Westbury) has demonstrated expertise in the fields of science and education and has published widely. His goal in this book is to give students and others a context for understanding science from the traditional scholarly standpoint and also from a more general perspective. By definition, science is a body of knowledge that increases at a pace that makes it virtually impossible for anyone to fully master. Nevertheless, it is important for citizens to know how science is used and for what purposes. The author's approach is to see science as a general type of knowledge with distinctive characteristics that it shares with other forms of human knowledge. Students and the general public need a broader sort of background knowledge to comprehend and more importantly, to apply the concepts that constitute such a generalized form of scientific literacy. To accomplish this, it is necessary to consider science's origins and development, as well as its practice. The book first deals with science's historical and philosophical aspects and then addresses the sociological aspects that are the inevitable consequence of its applications. The book's content and writing is of the highest quality, and the organization is superb. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic and general audiences. CHOICE The book offers a timely reminder of the tremendous advance in and limitations of science's grasp of reality. The author shows how the teaching of science needs to be aware of the historical, philosophical, and sociological contexts of scientific practice. Especially informative is the author's discussion of how to understand the role of mathematics in modern science's encounter with the world. The book will serve as a useful guide for science teachers. -- William E. Carroll, Aquinas Fellow in Theology and Science, Blackfriars, University of Oxford A significant goal of modern science education, and also one of our major challenges, is to enhance students' understanding of the nature of science. Espinoza presents a novel and comprehensive perspective on this topic in a sophisticated, multidisciplinary perspective that is practical and timely, suitable for a broad audience of science educators or anyone interested in a liberally-informed perspective on how scientists think and do their work. -- O. R. Anderson, chair, mathematics, science, and technology, Columbia University, Teachers College Fernando Espinoza writes in an accessible manner that invites deep thinking through thought provoking questions in the items for reflection section at the end of each chapter. The book traces the history of science from the ancients to modern day and focuses on why we know what we know. He ties together important elements in science, starting with history and moving to philosophy. -- Erica M. Brownstein, NSTA Program Coordinator, Capital University Fernando Espinoza takes an approach we do not often find in science literature...Items for reflection and references...work as good points of departure for students looking to do further research or teachers looking for topics for writing assignments...There is much here that teachers can grab onto and incorporate into their classes. NSTA Recommends


Espinoza (SUNY College at Old Westbury) has demonstrated expertise in the fields of science and education and has published widely. His goal in this book is to give students and others a context for understanding science from the traditional scholarly standpoint and also from a more general perspective. By definition, science is a body of knowledge that increases at a pace that makes it virtually impossible for anyone to fully master. Nevertheless, it is important for citizens to know how science is used and for what purposes. The author's approach is to see science as a general type of knowledge with distinctive characteristics that it shares with other forms of human knowledge. Students and the general public need a broader sort of background knowledge to comprehend and more importantly, to apply the concepts that constitute such a generalized form of scientific literacy. To accomplish this, it is necessary to consider science's origins and development, as well as its practice. The book first deals with science's historical and philosophical aspects and then addresses the sociological aspects that are the inevitable consequence of its applications. The book's content and writing is of the highest quality, and the organization is superb. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All academic and general audiences. * CHOICE * The book offers a timely reminder of the tremendous advance in and limitations of science's grasp of reality. The author shows how the teaching of science needs to be aware of the historical, philosophical, and sociological contexts of scientific practice. Especially informative is the author's discussion of how to understand the role of mathematics in modern science's encounter with the world. The book will serve as a useful guide for science teachers. -- William E. Carroll, Aquinas Fellow in Theology and Science, Blackfriars, University of Oxford A significant goal of modern science education, and also one of our major challenges, is to enhance students' understanding of the nature of science. Espinoza presents a novel and comprehensive perspective on this topic in a sophisticated, multidisciplinary perspective that is practical and timely, suitable for a broad audience of science educators or anyone interested in a liberally-informed perspective on how scientists think and do their work. -- O. R. Anderson, chair, mathematics, science, and technology, Columbia University, Teachers College Fernando Espinoza writes in an accessible manner that invites deep thinking through thought provoking questions in the items for reflection section at the end of each chapter. The book traces the history of science from the ancients to modern day and focuses on why we know what we know. He ties together important elements in science, starting with history and moving to philosophy. -- Erica M. Brownstein, NSTA Program Coordinator, Capital University Fernando Espinoza takes an approach we do not often find in science literature....Items for reflection and references...work as good points of departure for students looking to do further research or teachers looking for topics for writing assignments....There is much here that teachers can grab onto and incorporate into their classes. * NSTA Recommends *


Fernando Espinoza writes in an accessible manner that invites deep thinking through thought provoking questions in the items for reflection section at the end of each chapter. The book traces the history of science from the ancients to modern day and focuses on why we know what we know. He ties together important elements in science, starting with history and moving to philosophy.--Brownstein, Erica M.


The book offers a timely reminder of the tremendous advance in and limitations of science's grasp of reality. The author shows how the teaching of science needs to be aware of the historical, philosophical, and sociological contexts of scientific practice. Especially informative is the author's discussion of how to understand the role of mathematics in modern science's encounter with the world. The book will serve as a useful guide for science teachers. -- William E. Carroll A significant goal of modern science education, and also one of our major challenges, is to enhance students' understanding of the nature of science. Espinoza presents a novel and comprehensive perspective on this topic in a sophisticated, multidisciplinary perspective that is practical and timely, suitable for a broad audience of science educators or anyone interested in a liberally-informed perspective on how scientists think and do their work. -- O. R. Anderson Fernando Espinoza writes in an accessible manner that invites deep thinking through thought provoking questions in the items for reflection section at the end of each chapter. The book traces the history of science from the ancients to modern day and focuses on why we know what we know. He ties together important elements in science, starting with history and moving to philosophy. -- Brownstein, Erica M.


Author Information

Fernando Espinoza is associate professor of chemistry and physics and director of graduate education programs at the School of Education at SUNY College at Old Westbury. He is also on the faculty of physics and astronomy at Hofstra University. Currently, he is also a member of the editorial review board for Scientific Journals International, Science Education Review, and Research in Science Education.

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