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Kuhn Vs.Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science (Hardcover)

by Steve Fuller (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 244 pages
  • Publisher: Icon Books Ltd (5 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1840464682
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840464689
  • Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 10.6 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 451,470 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #23 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Philosophy > Philosophers > More Philosophers > Popper, Karl

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Product Description

Review

"Reading Steve Fuller is like reading Umberto Eco on speed." Jeff Hughes, University of Manchester

An overview of the debate between the two most influential modern philosophies of science. Fuller (Sociology/Univ. of Warwick) places Thomas Kuhn (1922-96) and Karl Popper (1902-94) at the heads of two divergent schools of thought about the roles of science and the scientist. Kuhn's 1960 book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, postulated that scientists normally work within a paradigm, a framework of ideas that controls what questions they ask and what data they examine. At intervals, a new paradigm-for example, the Copernican solar system-captures the imagination of a new generation of scientists and replaces the old one, without necessarily being a more accurate depiction of reality. Popper, an intellectual descendent of the logical positivist school, argued that the essence of science is the search for ways to falsify accepted viewpoints, and that only those propositions that can be disproved are genuinely scientific. Fuller states the two men's basic positions and examines their underlying scientific, historical, and political premises. Openly acknowledging that he finds Kuhn's theory detrimental to the independence of science, the author suggests that because Kuhn came to intellectual maturity in an era when American society needed to subsume scientific research into the Cold War effort, he favored a view in which most scientists do not ordinarily question basic principles. Popper's view, that science is a model of an open society in which free inquiry is the norm, offers at the same time more personal freedom and more personal responsibility to the individual scientist. While the general verdict is that Kuhn won the debate during the two men's lifetimes, Fuller argues that Popper's view retains the potential to liberate science from its current role as the handmaiden of government and business. A succinct yet in-depth inquiry into a significant philosophical issue. (Kirkus Reviews)


Jenny Uglow

'This is the very book I’ve been needing to read for ages, to get things straight in my mind!’ --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that challenges your preconceptions, 18 Dec 2003
By John Brewer (Amherst, Mass) - See all my reviews
The TLS had a review of this book a couple of weeks ago and managed to do the book justice. Basically Popperians will love the book at two levels. Not only does it defend Popper against Kuhn, but it also falsifies one’s – or at least my! -- preconception of what the Kuhn-Popper debate was really about.

Make no mistake about it. ‘Kuhn vs Popper’ is not for the intellectually faint-hearted but its message is pretty clear, if not entirely welcomed by people who have come to believe that Kuhn is the last word on the nature of science. In any case, as Fuller points out, this debate really had very little influence on practicing scientists – but it influenced a lot of people who take science seriously as some basis for authority in society. What Fuller most regrets about Kuhn’s victory is that it has managed to allow a pretty conservative, heads-down approach to science to pass itself off as radical, just because Kuhn used a lot of radical-sounding words like ‘revolution’.

The most interesting part of this book is the way Fuller gets you to think about the politics both in and around science as it’s done today. He argues that BOTH Kuhn and Popper would condemn the sort of money-hungry, status-seeking, power-grabbing activities all too frequently associated with science today. However, Popper was more openly critical of these tendencies, whereas Kuhn hid behind trendy but vague language that still manages to seduce some people.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, 14 May 2008
By A. J. HAWKEN "Tony Hawken" (London - UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Kuhn vs Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science (Paperback)
I recently considered starting an MSc in Philosophy of Science and decided to read something simple to gain some idea about the subject. I chose this book because the compulsory module for this MSc involves reading a lot about Kuhn. I did have some of Kuhn's books, but decided on something much simpler that I could easily read in a week.

The book is hard-going in places because for the layman, there are many unfamiliar terms used. Fortunately there is a glossary towards the end of the book which helps.

This book gave me an insight into the work of Kuhn and convinced me that the philosophy of Science being discussed should be called Sociology of Science. This was enough to persuade me that I didn't really want to put the time, money and effort into studying for the stated MSc.

It is fitting that Steve Fuller is a sociologist, as much of the content is really about the sociology of Science.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book! Read before judging it, 21 Mar 2006
By Hans Castorp (Davos, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kuhn vs Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science (Paperback)
I'm writing this review not because the book needs more sales, since this may be the bestselling of Fuller's books. But I'm amazed at the cheek of the reviewers here. I don't think they bothered to read the book at all, certainly not to the end. The book is divided into short chapters that look at various senses in which Kuhn and Popper may be seen as having disagreed with each other. The paperback edition contains a glossary that is not included in the hardback.

Like it or not, not much seems to have happened when these two guys encountered each other. The action really did occur offstage -- in the various spins that partisans gave to what KUhn and Popper stood for. Kuhn's spin doctors won the PR war, though largely without Kuhn's help. Kuhn comes across in this book as cowardly, Popper as awkward but basically right. There's lots to think about here in terms of what intellectual responsibility means once your work has a much more public impact than you intended.

Also, I think unbiased readers will find it interesting the common roots of scientific paradigms/revolutions with religious dogma/heresy. No doubt those who see science and religion as polar opposites won't get the point. But others will. Buy it and judge for yourself.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great
Another great book by Steve Fuller, epistemological debate at the highest level. Great for background reading or pure enjoyment, but if you're looking for the bare bones of Kuhn... Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. Matthews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the lay person
I found this book difficult and verbose. It may well be an excellent examination of the issues, but even armed with my degree in psychology, some knowledge of the subjects raised,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by D. M. Powell

3.0 out of 5 stars Suggestive but biased
This is a richly suggestive study that despite its faults deserves attention. The central thesis that science is out of kilter is passionately argued and grounded in a neat... Read more
Published on 24 April 2006 by mark tully

1.0 out of 5 stars A sociological paradigm in crisis
This book tells me, anyhow, that the dreadful paradigm of sociology is in total (and seemingly permanent) crisis. As Hume would say: "to the flames". Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2005 by Mr. M. A. Speedy

2.0 out of 5 stars a "paradigm" case of why no one listens to academics?
As I was one of those wasters who read a bit of philosophy many years back, the title of this book caught my eye. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2003 by O. Buxton

5.0 out of 5 stars Packs a punch
This is an abridged and updated version of the big book Fuller did on Kuhn a couple of years ago. Kuhn is accused of no less than intellectual irresponsibility for failing to... Read more
Published on 19 Oct 2003 by Morgan Dorrell

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