This book is a history, analysis, and criticism of what the author calls OC postmodern interpretations of scienceOCO (PIS) and the closely related OC sociology of scientific knowledgeOCO (SSK). This movement traces its origin to Thomas Kuhn''s revolutionary work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), but is more extreme. It believes that science is a OC social constructionOCO, having little to do with nature, and is determined by contextual forces such as the race, class, gender of the scientist, laboratory politics, or the needs of the military industrial complex.

Extends the ideas of social constructivism to the philosophy of mathematics, developing a powerful critique of traditional absolutist conceptions of mathematics, and proposing a reconceptualization of the philosophy of mathematics.

First published in 1994. This book and its companion volume, Mathematics, Education and Philosophy: An International Perspective are edited collections. Instead of the sharply focused concerns of the research monograph, the books offer a panorama of complementary and forward-looking perspectives. They illustrate the breadth of theoretical and philosophical perspectives that can fruitfully be brough to bear on the mathematics and education. The empathise of this book is on epistemological issues, encompassing multiple perspectives on the learning of mathematics, as well as broader philosophical reflections on the genesis of knowledge. It explores constructivist and social theories of learning and discusses the rile of the computer in light of these theories.

Historically, the scientific method has been said to require proposing a theory, making a prediction of something not already known, testing the prediction, and giving up the theory (or substantially changing it) if it fails the test. A theory that leads to several successful predictions is more likely to be accepted than one that only explains what is already known but not understood. This process is widely treated as the conventional method of achieving scientific progress, and was used throughout the twentieth century as the standard route to discovery and experimentation. But does science really work this way? In Making 20th Century Science, Stephen G. Brush discusses this question, as it relates to the development of science throughout the last century. Answering this question requires both a philosophically and historically scientific approach, and Brush blends the two in order to take a close look at how scientific methodology has developed. Several cases from the history of modern physical and biological science are examined, including Mendeleev's Periodic Law, Kekule's structure for benzene, the light-quantum hypothesis, quantum mechanics, chromosome theory, and natural selection. In general it is found that theories are accepted for a combination of successful predictions and better explanations of old facts. Making 20th Century Science is a large-scale historical look at the implementation of the scientific method, and how scientific theories come to be accepted.

Book is clean and tight. No writing in text. Like New

*THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AS OPEN ACCESS BOOK ON SPRINGERLINK* One of the most significant tasks facing mathematics educators is to understand the role of mathematical reasoning and proving in mathematics teaching, so that its presence in instruction can be enhanced. This challenge has been given even greater importance by the assignment to proof of a more prominent place in the mathematics curriculum at all levels. Along with this renewed emphasis, there has been an upsurge in research on the teaching and learning of proof at all grade levels, leading to a re-examination of the role of proof in the curriculum and of its relation to other forms of explanation, illustration and justification. This book, resulting from the 19th ICMI Study, brings together a variety of viewpoints on issues such as: The potential role of reasoning and proof in deepening mathematical understanding in the classroom as it does in mathematical practice. The developmental nature of mathematical reasoning and proof in teaching and learning from the earliest grades. The development of suitable curriculum materials and teacher education programs to support the teaching of proof and proving. The book considers proof and proving as complex but foundational in mathematics. Through the systematic examination of recent research this volume offers new ideas aimed at enhancing the place of proof and proving in our classrooms.

This material is intended to contribute to a wider appreciation of the mathematical words "continuity and linearity". The book's purpose is to illuminate the meanings of these words and their relation to each other --- Product Description.

Lost in the raging debate over the validity of social construction is the question of what, precisely, is being constructed. Facts, gender, quarks, reality? Ian Hacking’s book explores an array of examples to reveal the deep issues underlying contentious accounts of reality—especially regarding the status of the natural sciences.

A watershed event in the field of sociology, this text introduced “a major breakthrough in the sociology of knowledge and sociological theory generally” (George Simpson, American Sociological Review). In this seminal book, Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann examine how knowledge forms and how it is preserved and altered within a society. Unlike earlier theorists and philosophers, Berger and Luckmann go beyond intellectual history and focus on commonsense, everyday knowledge—the proverbs, morals, values, and beliefs shared among ordinary people. When first published in 1966, this systematic, theoretical treatise introduced the term social construction,effectively creating a new thought and transforming Western philosophy.

This book offers a unique analysis of how ideas about science and technology in the public and scientific imaginations (in particular about maths, logic, the gene, the brain, god, and robots) perpetuate the false reality that values and politics are separate from scientific knowledge and its applications. These ideas are reinforced by cultural myths about free will and individualism. Restivo makes a compelling case for a synchronistic approach in the study of these notoriously 'hard' cases, arguing that their significance reaches far beyond the realms of science and technology, and that their sociological and political ramifications are of paramount importance in our global society. This innovative work deals with perennial problems in the social sciences, philosophy, and the history of science and religion, and will be of special interest to professionals in these fields, as well as scholars of science and technology studies.