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Imagination and Scientific Dilemmas: Exclusion, circularity and infinite regress in "scientific texts"

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Author

  • Mina O'Dowd

Editor

  • Donatella Palomba

Summary, in English

Building on the results of a mapping project, the paper examines two kinds of knowledge, "expert knowledge" and "scientific knowledge" with regard to "dilemmas of exclusion, circularity and infinite regress" (Paulston, 2000a, p. 9) and the consequences of these dilemmas, when seen with another imagination than that used to construct the knowledge built upon them. The constructive imagination used in this paper is characterized by two defining characteristics; metaphysical pluralism (Lynch, 1998) and the definition of science as the cumulative human project, composed of the totality of all cultural forms (Cassirer, 1957). Examination of the six texts included in the mapping project is undertaken in an attempt to clarify the role scientific texts have played in what Latour has called "our culture" (1990).

Department/s

Publishing year

2008

Language

English

Publication/Series

The Emergence of the Knowledge society: From Clerici vagantes to Internet

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Aracne Editrice

Topic

  • Educational Sciences

Keywords

  • circularity
  • infinite regress
  • exclusion
  • dilemmas
  • scientific knowledge
  • expert knowledge

Status

Inpress

Project

  • PRESTIGE