The No Nonsense Guide To Science

The No Nonsense Guide to Science
2006 edition, reproduced with permission of the publisher
AuthorJerome Ravetz
LanguageEnglish
SubjectsPost-normal science
PublisherNew Internationalist
Publication date
2006
Pages142
ISBN1904456464

The No Nonsense Guide to Science is a 2006 book on Post-normal science (PNS). It was written by American born British historian and philosopher of science Jerome Ravetz.[1]

Main

What should a young person do who aspires to make the world a better place and to make their way in science?

This is how this work's ambition was summarized.[2] Written in 2006 by one of the founding fathers[3] of Post-normal Science - the other being Silvio Funtowicz - its 142 pages cover several themes, in part synthesizing previous works such as Scientific Knowledge and Its Social Problems, The Merger of Knowledge with Power, and Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy (with Funtowicz), and introduces the ideas of Post-normal Science.[4] Topics include:

  • The problem of science being at once 'little'[5] and big or 'mega', embedded in institutions and corporations[1]: 47–60 
  • The fallibility of science, against a possibly 'dogmatic' teaching of the power of science[1]: 38 
  • The democratization of science as a necessary and realistic antidote to its hubris[1]: 112–126 
  • The opportunity of forming extended peer communities - inclusive of whistle blowers and investigative journalists as well as academics and interested stakeholders, when science is called to answer conflicted policy questions.[1]: 75–76, 93 
  • The relationship between science and society[1]: 94–111 

The book makes themes that are well known to philosophers and sociologists of science accessible to a larger, less specialized audience, including young scientists.[2] The foreword was written by biochemist Tom Blundell, who approves of Ravetz' "direct and provocative" approach to describing science, inclusive of its self-destructive tendencies as well as of its hopes and promises.

Reception

No Nonsense Guide to Science was translated and published in Japan in 2012.[6] Ravetz's work has found use for teaching philosophy and ethics of science, e.g at the University of Copenhagen.[7] The volume may help to develop the competencies that scientists need to perform ethically[8] in postnormal research, by developing the ability to identify issues that fit postnormal settings where "facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decision urgent".[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Ravetz, Jerome R. 2005. The No Nonsense Guide to Science. Oxford: New Internationalist.
  2. ^ a b Latham, Jonathan. 2008. “The No-Nonsense Guide to Science.” Independent Science News, June 4, 2008. https://www.independentsciencenews.org/reviews/guide-to-science/.
  3. ^ Carrozza, C. (2015). Democratizing Expertise and Environmental Governance: Different Approaches to the Politics of Science and their Relevance for Policy Analysis. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 17(1), 108-126.
  4. ^ Funtowicz, Silvio, and Jerome R. Ravetz. 1993. “Science for the Post-Normal Age.” Futures 25 (7): 739–55.
  5. ^ Solla Price, D J de. 1963. Little Science, Big Science. George B. Pegram Lectures. Columbia University Press. https://books.google.com/books?id=MWQPAQAAMAAJ
  6. ^ Tsukahara, Togo. 2017. “Commentary: New Currents in Science: The Challenge of Quality, Examining the Discrepancies and Incongruities between Japanese Techno-Scientific Policy and the Citizens’ Science Movement in Post-3/11 Japan.” Futures, Post-Normal science in practice, 91 (August): 84–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2017.04.008.
  7. ^ a b Børsen, T. (May 2008). "Developing ethics competencies among science students at the University of Copenhagen". European Journal of Engineering Education. 33 (2): 179–186. doi:10.1080/03043790801987735. ISSN 0304-3797. S2CID 29073475.
  8. ^ Kønig, Nicolas, Tom Børsen, and Claus Emmeche. 2017. “The Ethos of Post-Normal Science.” Futures, Post-Normal science in practice, 91 (August): 12–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2016.12.004.