There is a lot of confusion and misconception concerning science. The nature and contents of science is an unsettled problem. For example, Thales of 2,600 years ago is recognized as the father of science but the word science was introduced only in the 14th century; the definition of science is often avoided in books about philosophy of science. This book aims to clear up all these confusions and present new developments in the philosophy, history, sociology and communication of science. It also aims to showcase the achievement of China's top scholars in these areas. The 18 chapters, divided into five parts, are written by prominent scholars including the Nobel laureate Robin Warren, sociologist Harry Collins, and physicist-turned-historian Dietrich Stauffer.
Contents:Preface:About Science 1: Basics — Knowledge, Nature, Science and Scimat (Lui Lam)About Science 2: Philosophy, History, Sociology and Communication (Lui Lam)Philosophy of Science:Towards a Phenomenological Philosophy of Science (Guo-Sheng Wu)The Predicament of Scientific Culture in Ancient China (Hong-Sheng Wang)What Do Scientists Know! (Nigel Sanitt)How to Deal with the Whole: Two Kinds of Holism in Methodology (Jin-Yang Liu)History of Science:Helicobactor: The Ease and Difficulty of a New Discovery (Robin Warren)Science in Victorian Era: New Observations on Two Old Theses (Dun Liu)Medical Studies in Portugal Around 1911 (Maria Burguete)The Founding of the International Liquid Crystal Society (Lui Lam)Sociology of Science:Three Waves in Science Studies (Harry Collins)Solitons and Revolution in China: 1978–1983 (Lui Lam)Scientific Culture in Contemporary China (Bing Liu and Mei-Fang Zhang)Communication of Science:Science Communication: A History and Review (Peter Broks)Popular-Science Writings in Early Modern China (Lin Yin)Other Science Matters:Understanding Art Through Science: From Socrates to the Contextual Brain (Kajsa Berg)Spy Video Games After 9/11: Narrative and Pleasure (Ting-Ting Wang)Statistical Physics for Humanities: A Tutorial (Dietrich Stauffer)Readership: Researchers and laypeople interested in science.
