Science Studies as Naturalized Philosophy

This book approaches its subject matter in a way that combines a strong analytical and critical perspective with a historical and sociological framework for the understanding of the emergence of Science Studies. This is a novelty, since extant literature on this topic tends either to narrate the history of the field, with little criticism, or to criticize Science Studies from a philosophical platform but with little interest in its historical and social context. The book provides a critical review of the most prominent figures in Science Studies (also known as Science and Technology Studies) and traces the historical roots of the discipline back to developments emerging after World War II. It also presents it as an heir to a long trend in Western thought towards the naturalization of philosophy, where a priori modes of thought are replaced by empirical ones. Finally, it points to ways for Science Studies to proceed in the future.

Finn Collin, born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1949. Mag. art. in philosophy from the University of Copenhagen in 1974, Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley in 1978. Dr. phil. in philosophy from the University of Copenhagen in 1985. Affiliated with the University of Copenhagen since 1988, professor of philosophy at the University of Copenhagen since 1998. Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters since 2003. Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge in 1990, Visiting Scholar at University of California at Los Angeles in 1992, Visiting Scholar at University of California at Berkeley in 2008. Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. Major publications in English: Theory and Understanding. A Critique of Interpretive Social Science, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985; Social Reality, Routledge, London, 1997.