Drawing Out Leviathan - Dinosaurs and the Science Wars

Parsons acknowledges that there are lessons to be learned by scientists from their would-be adversaries, and the book concludes with some recommendations for ending the Science Wars.

List of contents

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Introduction: Why the Science Wars Matter

1. Mr. Carnegie's Sauropods

2. The Heresies of Dr. Bakker

3. The "Conversion" of David Raup

4. Are Dinosaurs Social Constructs?

5. Le Dinosaure Postmoderne

6. History, Wiggery, and Progress

7. Beyond the Science Wars: A Concluding Meditation

References

About the author

KEITH M. PARSONS is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston, Clear Lake and author of God and the Burden of Proof. He is editor of Philo, Journal of the Society of Humanist Philosophers.

Summary

For constructivists, 'nature' and 'reality' are simply what scientists agree to regard as natural or real. Further, the methods and standards of science are mere 'rules of the game' adopted to serve political and social agendas. This book critically examines this view in the light of some major debates about dinosaurs.

Product details

• Authors: Keith M Parsons, Keith M. Parsons, Parsons Keith M
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.10.2001
• EAN: 9780253339379
• ISBN: 978-0-253-33937-9
• No. of pages: 240
• Illustrations: 15 b&w photos
• Series: Life of the Past; Life of the Past
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general)