Science Meets Philosophy: What Makes Science Divided But Still Significant

The book is an attempt to bring together what are often seen as incommensurable scientific and philosophical positions. Its core argument is that a main reason for the divisions about what constitutes scientific knowledge relates to disagreements on philosophical issues. The book explores what these disagreements are about, and discusses whether they can be overcome.

Taking a historical perspective, the book traces the divides in science back to three main philosophical traditions: realism, idealism, and scepticism. It maps how these have inspired three main current positions in science: logical empiricism, phenomenology, and sociology of scientific knowledge.

The book is intended for a general audience concerned with today’s debates on scientific knowledge and society. It will be useful for students and researchers studying philosophy of science, sociology of scientific knowledge, realism, phenomenology, positivism, logical empiricism, analytical philosophy, and sustainable scientific knowledge.

Hans Christian Garmann Johnsen is Professor at the Department of Working Life and Innovation at the School of Business and Law at the University of Agder, Norway. He has been Visiting Professor at Deusto University in Spain, Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Senior Researcher at NORCE (previously Agderforskning), and Visiting Scholar at several universities including UC Berkeley and Cornell in the USA, and Kingston University in the UK. His latest books are Coping With the Future: Rethinking Assumptions for Society, Business and Work with Holtskog, Halvor; Ennals, Richard (2018); Applied Social Science Research in a Regional Knowledge System with Hauge, Elisabeth S.; Magnussen, May-Linda; Ennals, Richard (2016).