Unhastening Science: Autonomy and Reflexivity in the Social Theory of Knowledge (Studies in Social and Political Thought, 7)

by Dick Pels

This book offers a new account of what makes science special among other human pursuits, critically engaging with a variety of approaches, especially constructivist and relativist studies of science and technology. It focuses on the studied "lack of haste" of science, its relative freedom from stress and its socially sanctioned withdrawal from the swift pace of ordinary life. Unhastening Science offers a balanced and thoughtful argument which emphasizes the dangers of cosseting science from the "scourge" of internal competition while at the same time highlighting the need for "distance" between the process of scientific thought and the faster machinery of politics, business, sports, and the media.

284 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Dick Pels was tot voor kort hoogleraar sociologie aan Brunel University in Londen en is nu werkzaam als freelance publicist. Zijn huidige onderzoek richt zich vooral op de opkomst van de celebrity-cultuur in politiek, bedrijfsleven en wetenschap. Hij schreef onder andere Macht of eigendom? Een kwestie van intellectuele rivaliteit (1987) en Het democratisch verschil. Jacques de Kadt en de nieuwe elite (1993).'