Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
20 used & new from £5.55

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science
 
See larger image
 

Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science (Paperback)

by Alan Sokal (Author)
3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
Price: £10.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, July 16? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
9 new from £5.55 11 used from £5.69
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science + Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture + Bad Science
Price For All Three: £28.59

Show availability and shipping details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture

Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture

by Alan Sokal
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  £14.00
Bad Science

Bad Science

by Ben Goldacre
4.6 out of 5 stars (142)  £3.60
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3.3 out of 5 stars (112)  £6.16
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3.0 out of 5 stars (33)  £6.26
Irrationality

Irrationality

by Stuart Sutherland
4.2 out of 5 stars (26)  £6.99
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Saint Martin's Press Inc.; 1st Picador USA Pbk. Ed edition (1 Nov 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0312204078
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312204075
  • Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 126,030 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #5 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies > Postmodernism

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Abuse Clothing
   www.CafePress.co.uk    Unique & Affordable T-shirts, Mugs, Posters & more. We ship worldwide! 
  
 

Product Description

Review
"Although Sokal and Bricmont focus on the abuse and misrepresentation of science by a dozen French intellectuals, their book broaches a much larger topic--the uneasy place of science and understanding of scientific rationality in contemporary culture."--Thomas Nagel," The New Republic"
"An excellent discussion . . . a plea for a sensible understanding of science and a welcome antidote to irrationality."--Simon Moss, "Houston Chronicle"


Product Description
The author of a parody of science and literary theory that was published as scholarship argues that many critics misuse scientific information they do not understand to make literary and philosophical points.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science
74% buy the item featured on this page:
Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science 3.4 out of 5 stars (34)
£10.99
Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture
10% buy
Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and Culture 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
£14.00
Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science
7% buy
Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science 4.4 out of 5 stars (14)
£12.60
Intellectual Impostures
5% buy
Intellectual Impostures 4.4 out of 5 stars (8)

 

Customer Reviews

34 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (34 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for all academics, 30 Jul 2001
By A Customer
As a university student of both physics and philosophy, this was certainly a refreshing read. After the many fruitless lessons I've spent trying to get points about physics across to philosophy students, it's nice to see it so well summed up. It's true that Bricmont and Sokal could use greater philosophical training, but their points about the abuse of physics are not lessened for all that.

The most interesting revelation of the book is the asymmetry between the natural and human sciences. While sociologists and philosophers without any scientific training can pontificate about what constitutes valid mathematical proofs and physical theories, any scientist pointing out the philosophers' (to a physicist) very obvious lack of understanding of basic physical concepts is branded as arrogant.

It's funny that while people don't expect the editors of the journal to know the physics involved, they don't care that the philosophical aspects were pure nonsense too. Shouldn't someone conversant with hermeneutics and the like have caught that?

This book should be required reading for anyone starting at a university-level education. Even if you don't agree with it, it will hopefully make you think.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Sacred Cows, 11 Aug 1999
By A Customer
After reading this work and re-reading all of the negative comments below, I can only presume that some people are in fear of having their sacred cows being served up for dinner.

From my perspective, the book is well balanced. Contrary to some allegations, Sokal and Bricmont go out of their way to limit their discussion to the abuse of science by some of those in the humanities. They explicitly state, several times, that they have no objections to the social sciences or the humanities *as a whole*, or even to the sections of work of those they criticize that don't attempt to use pseudo-scientific double-speak in order to prop up their positions. If anything, I think that Sokal and Bricmont are a little *too* generous to those they criticize.

I only subtract a star because they have an unfortunate tendancy to repeatedly quote long paragraphs of drivel from those they are offering critiques of. I needn't eat an entire egg in order to know that it is rotten.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Keep the aspirin handy!, 8 Feb 2006
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
What an ordeal the authors of this book must have endured in researching the material for it! Even wading through the snippets and samples used to illustrate their arguments is a mind-warping exercise. Describing the phenomenon of "postmodernism" as "nebulous Zeitgeist," they expand on the definition with characteristics of postmodernist writings. These elements are abuse of scientific terms and use of meaningless terminology, offering empty opinions on how science works and its impact on society. Manipulating science for philosophic ends might be considered harmless, if it was but an ignorant assault on the discipline alone. Instead, the deconstructionist view wants the whole of society to reconsider its roots in their lights - it is an intellectual revolution. Unlike other revolutions, however, postmodernism is purely destructive having no discernible aims.

The authors make a sincere effort to limit their diagnosis to a limited scope. They avoid judgment on the philosophies in general. By offering lengthy original quotes, countered by an analysis of the scientific principles clumsily interpreted by the PM writers, they invite readers to arrive at their own assessment. The reader is given brief but informative passages on the scientific topics in support of this exercise. It takes, however, a dedicated reader to wade through the morass of "profound prose" the PMs have conceived without querying its fundamental validity. What is interesting in their presentation is the focus on French sources. In this approach, they attack the contagion at its source. A diagnosis of its infection among North American academics isn't presented. That has been done elsewhere.

Yet the authors understand that the postmodernist movement has strong adherents in North America. This reaches far outside the university community to reach government policy makers, educators at all levels and even the business community. Among educators, postmodernist impact on feminist thinking has outstripped its role in other humanist issues. Feminists may not address specific scientific topics as such, but are given to broad sweeping statements castigating half of the human species. Luce Irigary is given much space in this book due to her outrageous assertions and her impact on North American feminism which adopts them gleefully. Sokal and Bricmont, in their conclusion, see this resulting in a violation on educational standards. It is, in truth, a raping of young minds. This book, then, is a sharp warning to those who force artificial standards on behaviour and school curricula. Read it, difficult as the postmodernist passages are, with the intention to look at the issues further. They are before you now and require action. It is your children who will benefit from what Sokal and Bricmont have offered. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but probably can be misused.
I thought it was entertaining to deconstruct the deconstructionist. But honestly, is it really that big a deal? I like how one reviewer claimed that he/she has a B. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Cwyu

5.0 out of 5 stars Intellectual Morons
Fashionable Nonsense grew out of the famous hoax in which Alan Sokal published a parody article in the American post-modern journal Social Text. Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2004 by Pieter

5.0 out of 5 stars News from cloud-cuckoo-land
'But when such solecisms as we find in these writings are confidently put forth as scholarly discoveries, with every assurance that something profound is being uttered, one must... Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2002 by Suetonius

5.0 out of 5 stars Not as naive as some claim
There are already loads of reviews here, and there's not much that hasn't been said yet - BUT, I would quite like to say something about the reviews. Read more
Published on 18 April 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Too reliant on polemic
I agree with those who find the book's argument weak. Considering the claims they make for themselves and the criticisms they level at their targets, these authors are... Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Best part is the discussion on scientific method
While the sections on the French theorists are amusing and/or depressing, the chapter on positivism, empiricism, and induction is the most worthwhile. Read more
Published on 19 Aug 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars Wittily and accessibly written but entirely misses the point
Sokal and bricmont have written an amusing, well researched and entertaining critique of 'post-modern science'. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 1999

2.0 out of 5 stars A rather piece of propaganda
There are some good things about Sokal and his little book. He is politically committed and the work he did in the 1980s for the Sandinistas can only be applauded. Read more
Published on 20 Jul 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
A brilliant and rather amusing book. It falls a little short in going down to the final consequences of the author's analysis, but it still is a book I would recommend anyone.
Published on 17 Jul 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be read by everyone into social science.
At first, I have to admit I enjoyed this book because of some personal reasons: as History graduate I was concerned and disappointed by the effects of posmodern theories in the... Read more
Published on 26 May 1999

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Handbook of Science and...

Handbook of Science...

Now available in paperback the Handbook of Science and Technology... Read more
£50.35

Find similar items

 

More From Alan D. Sokal

Beyond the Hoax...

Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy...

Most scientists will be highly appreciative of and deeply fascinated... Read more
£20.00 £14.00

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

Shop now

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates