Recommended Readings

Recommended Readings:The following readings are recommended by the professor or The Teaching Company to enhance your learning experience.Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human BrainDamasio, AntonioA popular discussion of Descartes' philosophy and its influence on modern conceptions of mind and body. Reprinted in 2005. Higher SuperstitionGross, Paul R. and Norman LeavittA book-long "flame" against the left-wing academic social and political ideologies behind the postmodern attack on scientific knowledge. The Social Construction of What? Hacking, IanAn excellent, jargon-free critique of the meaning of social construction. Highly recommended. Science, Truth, and DemocracyKitcher, Philip Both sides of the issue of the objectivity of scientific knowledge are presented, along with its relevance to science policy decisions. Highly recommended. The Structure of Scientific RevolutionsKuhn, ThomasThis is a reprint of the 1962 book that precipitated a consensus against the traditional objective and realist view of scientific knowledge. A must read. Science in ActionLatour, BrunoOne of the best and most aggressive arguments for the socially constructed character of scientific knowledge. Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe Morris, Simon ConwayAn argument for the view that evolution is directed, not random. Science and SubjectivityScheffler, IsraelA passionate defense of the objectivity of scientific knowledge against the attacks by Hanson, Polanyi, and Kuhn. Highly recommended. Plato's Sophist: The Professor of WisdomEvan Brann, Peter Kalkavage, Eric Salem (editors)A recent and preferable translation, this is one of two dialogues by Plato (Theaetetus is the other) that focus on the contrast between Plato's conception of knowledge and that of the Sophists.