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“On the Perils of Having the Right Answer”
Views: 384
- Title: “On the Perils of Having the Right Answer”
- Author(s): Matthew Stanley
- Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
- Collection: Common Ground Research Networks
- Series: Science in Society
- Journal Title: The International Journal of Science in Society
- Keywords: Public Understanding of Science, Uncertainty in Science, History and Philosophy of Science, Astrophysics
- Volume: 2
- Issue: 1
- Date: May 16, 2011
- ISSN: 1836-6236 (Print)
- ISSN: 1836-6244 (Online)
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/1836-6236/CGP/v02i01/51497
- Citation: Stanley, Matthew. 2011. "“On the Perils of Having the Right Answer”." The International Journal of Science in Society 2 (1): 271-284. doi:10.18848/1836-6236/CGP/v02i01/51497.
- Extent: 14 pages
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2011, Common Ground Research Networks, All Rights Reserved
Abstract
The common view of science as being certain and inerrant leads to dangerous misunderstandings of the nature of scientific knowledge and methods. This paper discusses these dangers and presents a case study from the history of astrophysics to show how uncertainty functions within scientific practice. The case is made that grasping the role of uncertainty will make the social position of science stronger.
