Defining Science: A Rhetoric of Demarcation

by Charles Alan Taylor

The most interesting entry point to the demarcation problem in science since Poppers seminal formulation.Steve Fuller, Professor of Sociology & Social Policy, Durham University What is science? What isnt science? And who draws the line between them? These are rhetorical concerns, as Charles A. Taylor demonstrates in this ambitious book about the theoretical and cultural underpinnings of scientific practice. By showing how boundaries between science and nonscience are rhetorically constructed and socially enforced, Defining Science reveals the political and philosophical significance of such distinctions. Taylor examines the traditional demarcation problem, the problem of defining the boundaries of science, as an ongoing rhetorical negotiation involving a full range of historical interests and social actorsfrom researchers and lab technicians to governmental and industrial patrons, program administrators, political representatives, journalists, and educators. His case studies of the recent debates over creationism and cold fusion clearly demonstrate how the rhetorical dynamics of science operate within different fields. In both cases, presented here with concision and insight, prevailing demarcationsor defining portrayals of scienceemerge as far more nuanced than traditional accounts allow. Taylor analyzes traditional approaches to demarcation in science in order to incorporate their insights into his larger rhetorical view. His reformulation of philosophical, historical, and sociological accounts of science clearly illustrates the intellectual value of an interdisciplinary rhetoric of demarcation. Furthermore, Defining Science suggests how we, as a community, can positively influence future constructions of science and society. This book confronts what is arguably the late twentieth centurys definitive problem in a provocative and interesting way. It will be of interest to anyone engaged with the question of knowledge in public life.Charles Arthur Willard, Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication, University of Louisville

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book strikes a nice balance between the radical rhetoricism in some of Alan Gross's work and the all-too-prevalent scientism in much science writing.