Reconfiguring Truth: Postmodernism, Science Studies, and the Search for a New Model of Knowledge

by Steven C. Ward

This refreshingly original book links the postmodern critique of notions such as "reality" and "truth" with approaches to knowledge found in science and technology studies (STS), a field also discontent with traditional epistemology. Exploring STS approaches to knowledge, such as actor-network theory, Ward forges a path through the impasse of the modernism vs. postmodernism debate. Reconfiguring Knowledge is an important work for social scientists and theorists, philosophers, historians, and scholars of science and technology.

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Alex Birchall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tries to rehabilitate the work of figures like Latour to distance it from postmodernism, and show how its 'realism' is better than Durkheim's. Not sure how well Ward achieves this. Latour is pretty openly irrealist on many occasions. Actor-network theory as an enterprise is very often confused with itself. Still has a very good discussion of the state of knowledge and truth within contemporary debates in the social sciences.