The Social Construction of What?

· Harvard University Press
Livro eletrónico
272
Páginas
As classificações e as críticas não são validadas  Saiba mais

Acerca deste livro eletrónico

Lost in the raging debate over the validity of social construction is the question of what, precisely, is being constructed. Facts, gender, quarks, reality? Is it a person? An object? An idea? A theory? Each entails a different notion of social construction, Ian Hacking reminds us. His book explores an array of examples to reveal the deep issues underlying contentious accounts of reality.

Especially troublesome in this dispute is the status of the natural sciences, and this is where Hacking finds some of his most telling cases, from the conflict between biological and social approaches to mental illness to vying accounts of current research in sedimentary geology. He looks at the issue of child abuse—very much a reality, though the idea of child abuse is a social product. He also cautiously examines the ways in which advanced research on new weapons influences not the content but the form of science. In conclusion, Hacking comments on the “culture wars” in anthropology, in particular a spat between leading ethnographers over Hawaii and Captain Cook. Written with generosity and gentle wit by one of our most distinguished philosophers of science, this wise book brings a much needed measure of clarity to current arguments about the nature of knowledge.

Classifique este livro eletrónico

Dê-nos a sua opinião.

Informações de leitura

Smartphones e tablets
Instale a app Google Play Livros para Android e iPad/iPhone. A aplicação é sincronizada automaticamente com a sua conta e permite-lhe ler online ou offline, onde quer que esteja.
Portáteis e computadores
Pode ouvir audiolivros comprados no Google Play através do navegador de Internet do seu computador.
eReaders e outros dispositivos
Para ler em dispositivos e-ink, como e-readers Kobo, tem de transferir um ficheiro e movê-lo para o seu dispositivo. Siga as instruções detalhadas do Centro de Ajuda para transferir os ficheiros para os e-readers suportados.