Why have scientists shied away from politics, or defended their work as value free? How has the ideal of neutrality come to dominate the world of science? These are some of the central questions that Robert Proctor addresses in his study of the politics of modern science.
Value-Free Science? emphasizes the importance of understanding the political origins and impact of scientific ideas. Proctor lucidly demonstrates how value-neutrality is a reaction to larger political developments, including the use of science by government and industry, the specialization of professional...
Why have scientists shied away from politics, or defended their work as value free? How has the ideal of neutrality come to dominate the world of s...
Agnotology-the study of how ignorance is produced and maintained-introduces a new and much-needed perspective for scholars across all fields of research, including the humanities and social sciences, business organization, and environmental policy and the law.
Agnotology-the study of how ignorance is produced and maintained-introduces a new and much-needed perspective for scholars across all fields of resear...
That sacred art scarcely exists today is all too clear. We can perhaps speak of a "religious," but certainly not a sacred art. True sacred art is not sentimental or psychological, but ontological and cosmological in nature. Sacred art cannot be the result of the feelings, fantasies, or even "thought" of the artist--as with most modern art--but rather the translation of a reality largely surpassing the limits of human individuality. Sacred art is precisely a supra-human art. The temple of former times was an "instrument" of recollection, joy, sacrifice, and exaltation. First through the...
That sacred art scarcely exists today is all too clear. We can perhaps speak of a "religious," but certainly not a sacred art. True sacred art is not ...
The cigarette is the deadliest artifact in the history of human civilization. It is also one of the most beguiling, thanks to more than a century of manipulation at the hands of tobacco industry chemists. In Golden Holocaust, Robert N. Proctor draws on reams of formerly-secret industry documents to explore how the cigarette came to be the most widely-used drug on the planet, with six trillion sticks sold per year. He paints a harrowing picture of tobacco manufacturers conspiring to block the recognition of tobacco-cancer hazards, even as they ensnare legions of scientists and...
The cigarette is the deadliest artifact in the history of human civilization. It is also one of the most beguiling, thanks to more than a century of m...