Listen and read

Step into an infinite world of stories

  • Listen and read as much as you want
  • Over 400 000+ titles
  • Bestsellers in 10+ Indian languages
  • Exclusive titles + Storytel Originals
  • Easy to cancel anytime
Subscribe now
Details page - Device banner - 894x1036
19 Ratings

4.3

Series

1 of 17

Duration
8H 27min
Language
English
Format
Category

Non-Fiction

This provocative audiobook reveals why the social character of scientific knowledge makes it trustworthy

Featuring narration by Kelly Burke, John Chancer, Nancy Crane, Richard Lyddon, and Kerry Shale

Do doctors really know what they are talking about when they tell us vaccines are safe? Should we take climate experts at their word when they warn us about the perils of global warming? Why should we trust science when our own politicians don't? In this landmark book, Naomi Oreskes offers a bold and compelling defense of science, revealing why the social character of scientific knowledge is its greatest strength—and the greatest reason we can trust it.

Tracing the history and philosophy of science from the late nineteenth century to today, Oreskes explains that, contrary to popular belief, there is no single scientific method. Rather, the trustworthiness of scientific claims derives from the social process by which they are rigorously vetted. This process is not perfect—nothing ever is when humans are involved—but she draws vital lessons from cases where scientists got it wrong. Oreskes shows how consensus is a crucial indicator of when a scientific matter has been settled, and when the knowledge produced is likely to be trustworthy.

Based on the Tanner Lectures on Human Values at Princeton University, this timely and provocative book features critical responses by climate experts Ottmar Edenhofer and Martin Kowarsch, political scientist Jon Krosnick, philosopher of science Marc Lange, and science historian Susan Lindee, as well as a foreword by political theorist Stephen Macedo.

© 2019 Princeton University Press (Audiobook): 9780691199139
© 2021 Princeton University Press (Ebook): 9780691222370

Release date

Audiobook: 22 October 2019
Ebook: 6 April 2021

Others also enjoyed ...

  1. Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari
  2. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman Richard P. Feynman
  3. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Yuval Noah Harari
  4. Free Will Sam Harris
  5. The World According to Physics Jim Al-Khalili
  6. On the Future: Prospects for Humanity Martin Rees
  7. Human Universe Professor Brian Cox
  8. Irrationality: A History of the Dark Side of Reason Justin Smith-Ruiu
  9. Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Annaka Harris
  10. Capital and Ideology Thomas Piketty
  11. The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization Peter Zeihan
  12. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Haidt
  13. The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist Richard P. Feynman
  14. What We Cannot Know: Explorations at the Edge of Knowledge Marcus du Sautoy
  15. A Brief History of Equality Thomas Piketty
  16. The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions Peter Brannen
  17. Know This: Today's Most Interesting and Important Scientific Ideas, Discoveries, and Developments John Brockman
  18. Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong Paul A. Offit
  19. Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Robert Wright
  20. Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century Howard Bloom
  21. The Open Society and Its Enemies: New One-Volume Edition Karl Popper
  22. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Mark Manson
  23. The Creativity Code: How AI is learning to write, paint and think Marcus du Sautoy
  24. The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew Alan Lightman
  25. Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and Prediction John Brockman
  26. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? Frans de Waal