Many of us view the world of science as a firm bastion of knowledge, with each new discovery and further illumination adding to an unshakable foundation of natural truths.
Weak Knowledge aims to rattle our faith, not in core certainties of scientific findings but in their strength as accessible resources. The authors show how, throughout history, many bodies of research have become precarious due to a host of factors. These factors have included cultural or social disinterest, feeble empirical evidence or theoretical justifications, and a lack of practical applications in a given field's findings. This book brings together cases from a range of historical periods and disciplines, ranging from personal medicine to climatology, to illuminate the specific forms, functions, and dynamics of so-called "weak" bodies of knowledge.
About the AuthorMoritz Epple is professor of the history of science at Goethe University, Frankfurt.
Annette Imhausen is professor of the history of science at Goethe University, Frankfurt.
Falk Muller is professor at Goethe University, Frankfurt.
Book InformationISBN 9783593509778
Author Moritz EppleFormat Hardback
Page Count 620
Imprint Campus VerlagPublisher Campus Verlag
Weight(grams) 810g
Dimensions(mm) 236mm * 165mm * 35mm