Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University. He is the author of Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior and Post-Truth, both published by the MIT Press.
[McIntyre] achieves his goal of laying out what makes science
distinct from other intellectual pursuits in this accessible
analysis.... At a time of concern over assaults to scientific
authority, McIntyre's intelligent treatise articulates why the
pursuit of scientific truths, even if inevitably flawed and subject
to human error, matters.—Publishers Weekly
There are many misunderstandings about science, even among
scientists. In this “post-truth” world, we must be able not only to
explain why claims based on scientific evidence have a superior
claim to believability but also to persuade the public to accept
them over competing claims that are not based on empirical evidence
but are based only on ideology or wishful thinking. Lee McIntyre, a
philosopher of science, has spent his entire career grappling with
this problem, and in his new book The Scientific Attitude:
Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience he tries to
explain what science is by examining what it is not...A worthy
project.—Science Based Medicine
Perhaps society would benefit from a better understanding of how
research is conducted and results are interpreted because if the
goal is to 'defend science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience'
you must be able to engage all audiences in the discussion. For
this reason, works like The Scientific Attitude are important....
McIntyre does remind us of the good that can come from approaching
science with the noble attitude that has advanced modern medicine
from guesswork and intuition to the evidence-based practice it is
today.—Chemistry World
McIntyre argues, what distinguishes science from both
pseudo-science and “not-science” (within which he includes art and
literature) is its attitude; that is, its sceptical respect for
evidence as opposed to mere anecdote, belief or opinion, and its
willingness to change its mind when confronted with new data.—The
Guardian
Highly recommended.—Choice
McIntyre makes an interesting and even convincing case for attitude
rather than method as the descriptor of what successful science
really is.—The Skeptic
Ask a Question About this Product More... |