science
Articles about technology, science and the scientific method.
The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme
Gould and Lewontin's oft-cited paper criticising what they see as the over-reliance on adaptationist explanations of many biologists.
"The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique Of The Adaptationist Programme," Proceedings Of The Royal Society of London, Series B, Vol. 205, No. 1161 (1979), Pp. 581-598.
Noam Chomsky on Postmodernism
Noam Chomsky reveals some of his frustrations with postmodernism and the role of 'intellectuals' in engaging with the public.
I've returned from travel-speaking, where I spend most of my life, and found a collection of messages extending the discussion about "theory" and "philosophy," a debate that I find rather curious. A few reactions -- though I concede, from the start, that I may simply not understand what is going on.
Evolution of the Mind: 4 Fallacies of Psychology
Philosopher of science, David J Buller, author of Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature, presents a refutation of some central claims of evolutionary psychology. In this Scientific American article, Buller focuses not on the motivations or political implications of evolutionary psychology proponents, but rather on the evidential claims advanced by those in the field.
Key Points:
* Among Charles Darwin’s lasting legacies is our knowledge that the human mind evolved by some adaptive process.
* A major, widely discussed branch of evolutionary psychology—Pop EP—holds that the human brain has many specialized mechanisms that evolved to solve the adaptive problems of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Creationism in the science classroom - 29% of science teachers say 'yes'
More than a quarter of science teachers polled by Ipsos MORI think creationism should be taught in the science classroom.
Ipsos MORI reports 'Teachers Dismiss Calls For Creationism To Be Taught In School Science Lessons'.
Science - further reading guide
Libcom's guide to further reading on the sciences and the scientific method.
a. Biology
*Richard Lewontin/Richard Levins/Stephen Rose/Leon Kamin:
Dialectical Biologist - Lewontin/Levins
Biology Under the Influence - Lewontin/Levins
Not in Our Genes - Lewontin/Rose/Kamin
Towards A Liberatory Biology - Rose, Ed.
The Making of Memory - Rose
The Science and Politics of I.Q. - Kamin
The Conscious Brain - Rose
Psychology - further reading guide
Libcom's guide to further reading on psychology and psychoanalysis.
Sigmund Freud:
The Complete Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
The Ego and Id
Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis
The Future of an Illusion
Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis
On Dreams
An Outline of Psychoanalysis
Totem and Taboo
Civilization and Its Discontents
The Psychopathology of Everyday Life
Beyond The Pleasure Principle
The Interpretation of Dreams
Wilhelm Reich:
The medicalisation of everyday life
NHS doctor and science writer Ben Goldacre writes about bullshit medical research, bogus science reporting, the placebo effect, and everything else from postmodernism to evolutionary psychology.
[b]His critiques of the health system, pharmaceutical industry, and consumer health fads are extremely relevant - his focus on social factors, economic inequalities, and rejection of reductionist medicalising and/or individualising of what are essentially social/collective issues is pretty consistent with any critique class-struggle anarchists could produce.
Scientists challenge copyright regulations
Last month a group of US physicists challenged copyright regulations that placed restriction on sharing their work.
A group of physicists last month challenged the American Physical Society after the APS withdrew two articles, the authors of which indicated an intention to publish some of the work on online-encyclopaedia Wikipedia
The commoditization of science
Ecologist Richard Levins and geneticist Richard Lewontin argue that modern science has been fully incorporated into the process of capitalism, and is subject to the same conditions as any other commodity.
They discuss the implications this has for scientific research, and the influence of bourgeois ideology on the thinking of scientists. The essay is taken from their 1985 book, The Dialectical Biologist.
1973: The Skylab 4 mutiny
A brief account of the 24-hour mutiny during the Skylab 4 mission in 1973/4 triggered by the astronauts' complaints of excessive workloads.
Class war in space - The Skylab 4 mutiny
