What Have We Learned About Science and Technology

by Loren R. Graham

At the time the Soviet Union broke apart in the late 1980 it has proven to be much more resilient than most previous observers believed, and, furthermore, is not nearly as directly dependent on political freedom for its vitality as Western analysts maintained.In the final section, the author makes two strong claims. The first comes from an examination of the social constructivist thesis that science is formed by social influences. His conclusion is that Russian science has indeed been influenced in that country in distinct ways, but not always in a fashion that will please radical social constructivists. The second strong claim is that contrary to the view of many Western scholars that science can flourish only in conditions of nurturing freedom, science turns out to be remarkably robust, able to flourish in adverse conditions.

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Loren R. Graham was an American historian of science, particularly science in Russia.

Reviews

[Garth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book for a college course about the history of science in Russia (pre,during,and post Soviet-era) and thought this book was interesting to see some of the differences between the scientific environments that Russian and the United States operate under