Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life

What does it mean to be a scientist working today; specifically, a scientist whose subject matter is human life? Scientists often overstate their claim to certainty, sorting the world into categorical distinctions that obstruct rather than clarify its complexities. In this book Daniel Nettle urges t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nettle, Daniel (Author)
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: Open Book Publishers 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:29147
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1869514241601437696
author Nettle, Daniel (Author)
author_browse Nettle, Daniel (Author)
author_facet Nettle, Daniel (Author)
author_sort Nettle, Daniel (Author)
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description What does it mean to be a scientist working today; specifically, a scientist whose subject matter is human life? Scientists often overstate their claim to certainty, sorting the world into categorical distinctions that obstruct rather than clarify its complexities. In this book Daniel Nettle urges the reader to unpick such distinctions—biological versus social sciences, mind versus body, and nature versus nurture—and look instead for the for puzzles and anomalies, the points of connection and overlap. These essays, converted from often humorous, sometimes autobiographical blog posts, form an extended meditation on the possibilities and frustrations of the life scientific. Pragmatically arguing from the intersection between social and biological sciences, Nettle reappraises the virtues of policy initiatives such as Universal Basic Income and income redistribution, highlighting the traps researchers and politicians are liable to encounter. This provocative, intelligent and self-critical volume is a testament to the possibilities of interdisciplinary study—whose virtues Nettle stridently defends—drawing from and having implications for a wide cross-section of academic inquiry. This will appeal to anybody curious about the implications of social and biological sciences for increasingly topical political concerns. It comes particularly recommended to Sciences and Social Sciences students and to scholars seeking to extend the scope of their field in collaboration with other disciplines.
format Online
id doab-20.500.12854ir-49099
institution Directory of Open Access Books
language eng
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher Open Book Publishers
publisherStr Open Book Publishers
record_format ojs
spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-490992024-04-01T23:19:46Z Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life Nettle, Daniel (Author) H1-99 interdisciplinary studies biology science behavioural studies social science scientific theories academic research human behaviour thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History What does it mean to be a scientist working today; specifically, a scientist whose subject matter is human life? Scientists often overstate their claim to certainty, sorting the world into categorical distinctions that obstruct rather than clarify its complexities. In this book Daniel Nettle urges the reader to unpick such distinctions—biological versus social sciences, mind versus body, and nature versus nurture—and look instead for the for puzzles and anomalies, the points of connection and overlap. These essays, converted from often humorous, sometimes autobiographical blog posts, form an extended meditation on the possibilities and frustrations of the life scientific. Pragmatically arguing from the intersection between social and biological sciences, Nettle reappraises the virtues of policy initiatives such as Universal Basic Income and income redistribution, highlighting the traps researchers and politicians are liable to encounter. This provocative, intelligent and self-critical volume is a testament to the possibilities of interdisciplinary study—whose virtues Nettle stridently defends—drawing from and having implications for a wide cross-section of academic inquiry. This will appeal to anybody curious about the implications of social and biological sciences for increasingly topical political concerns. It comes particularly recommended to Sciences and Social Sciences students and to scholars seeking to extend the scope of their field in collaboration with other disciplines. 2021-02-11T15:05:47Z 2021-02-11T15:05:47Z 2018-10-18 15:55:06 2018 book 29147 9781783745807 9781783745821 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/49099 eng application/octet-stream Attribution 4.0 International https://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/842 https://www.openbookpublishers.com/reader/842 Open Book Publishers https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0155 https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0155 b014b543-78bd-4c3b-bc71-b68e2ac855b9 9781783745807 9781783745821 262 open access
spellingShingle H1-99
interdisciplinary studies
biology
science
behavioural studies
social science
scientific theories
academic research
human behaviour
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
Nettle, Daniel (Author)
Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title_full Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title_fullStr Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title_full_unstemmed Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title_short Hanging on to the Edges: Essays on Science, Society and the Academic Life
title_sort hanging on to the edges essays on science society and the academic life
topic H1-99
interdisciplinary studies
biology
science
behavioural studies
social science
scientific theories
academic research
human behaviour
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
topic_facet H1-99
interdisciplinary studies
biology
science
behavioural studies
social science
scientific theories
academic research
human behaviour
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History
url 29147
work_keys_str_mv AT nettledanielauthor hangingontotheedgesessaysonsciencesocietyandtheacademiclife