Science for a Fragile World

The inherent fragility of our world necessitates that a successful model or theory in one instance may fail in another. Offering a novel re-examination of the philosophy of science, Science for a Fragile World advocates for a Case Worker approach to empirical investigation which emphasises practical know-how and informal knowledge.

List of contents

• 1: Introduction


• 2: Definition of fragility


• 3: Going local: narrow-scope explanations


• 4: The core divide: Stability-Theorist versus Case-Worker


• 5: Ubiquity of fragility


• 6: Fragility and philosophy of science


• 7: Fragility and reflexivity


• 8: Fragility and economics


• 9: Fragility and big data


• 10: Fragility and the COVID-19 pandemic


• 11: Conclusion: expertise in a fragile world

About the author

Robert Northcott is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London. He previously taught for six years at the University of Missouri St Louis. Northcott received his PhD in philosophy from the London School of Economics, also visiting University of California San Diego for two years. He has a BA in mathematics and history from Cambridge, and an MSc in economics from the London School of Economics. Northcott has been Honorary Secretary of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science. He was the founding co-editor of the Cambridge series Elements in Philosophy of Science.

Product details

• Authors: Robert Northcott
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 28.11.2025
• EAN: 9780192849083
• ISBN: 978-0-19-284908-3
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); PHILOSOPHY / Social, PHILOSOPHY / Political, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Theory, SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Social Aspects, Philosophy of Science, Social & political philosophy, Economic theory & philosophy, social and political philosophy, Impact of science & technology on society, Impact of science and technology on society, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Technology Studies, Economic theory and philosophy