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A review by skitch41
The Workshop and the World: What Ten Thinkers Can Teach Us About Science and Authority by Robert P. Crease
4.0
Authority, both generally and in particular areas, is under assault today. Just because you are the trained referee of a professional game, a government bureaucracy, or a renowned scientist doesn’t mean that people will automatically listen to your expertise. Skepticism of authority can be a healthy thing, but too much can lead to disaster. This book tries to tackle our current moment in history, where science denial (despite overwhelming evidence by some of the best minds in the world) is considered a badge of honor, by telling the history and intellectual development of science through 10 different lives.
Starting with Francis Bacon and moving through such figures as Galileo, Descartes, Mary Shelly, and Hannah Arendt, Robert Crease tells the story of how science gained its authority, but also how the very things that give science authority and power are the same things that make it vulnerable to science denial. It is an absolutely fascinating look and most of the lives are summed up quite well. It makes me want to go back and read some of the luminaries to get a better grasp of Western thought.
However, this is not a perfect book. At times, Prof. Crease gets too carried away. For example, he compares politicians who deny climate change and seek to keep scientific evidence for its existence from being used by the bureaucracy to ISIS militants that destroy irreplaceable cultural relics. It’s an extreme analogy, to say the least, and one that he readily acknowledges. He tries to back it up, but I found it to be incredibly harsh nonetheless. Also, in his conclusion he gives some recommendations on how to combat science denial. Most of the recommendations are sound, but one of them, the call to have politicians sign a pledge, seems unnecessarily hostile, just like his ISIS analogy. Lastly, while most of his chapters are solid summations, his chapter on Kemal Attaturk had a major flaw: it barely mentioned Attaturk or his life at all. Instead, the chapter focused on the the Ottoman Empire’s attempts to integrate Western science into its culture, which was achieved when the Empire transformed itself into the modern nation of Turkey, which Attaturk played a critical role in. Compared to his other chapters, this one fell a little flat.
Everything else in this book I heartily endorse. This is not just for philosophers, scientists, and historians. This should be read by anyone who has seen the rise of science denial, from climate change denial to flat earthers to anti-vaxers, before and during the Trump era. This book reminds us not just how we got to this age of scientific wonders, but points the way towards combatting those who would undermine it.
Starting with Francis Bacon and moving through such figures as Galileo, Descartes, Mary Shelly, and Hannah Arendt, Robert Crease tells the story of how science gained its authority, but also how the very things that give science authority and power are the same things that make it vulnerable to science denial. It is an absolutely fascinating look and most of the lives are summed up quite well. It makes me want to go back and read some of the luminaries to get a better grasp of Western thought.
However, this is not a perfect book. At times, Prof. Crease gets too carried away. For example, he compares politicians who deny climate change and seek to keep scientific evidence for its existence from being used by the bureaucracy to ISIS militants that destroy irreplaceable cultural relics. It’s an extreme analogy, to say the least, and one that he readily acknowledges. He tries to back it up, but I found it to be incredibly harsh nonetheless. Also, in his conclusion he gives some recommendations on how to combat science denial. Most of the recommendations are sound, but one of them, the call to have politicians sign a pledge, seems unnecessarily hostile, just like his ISIS analogy. Lastly, while most of his chapters are solid summations, his chapter on Kemal Attaturk had a major flaw: it barely mentioned Attaturk or his life at all. Instead, the chapter focused on the the Ottoman Empire’s attempts to integrate Western science into its culture, which was achieved when the Empire transformed itself into the modern nation of Turkey, which Attaturk played a critical role in. Compared to his other chapters, this one fell a little flat.
Everything else in this book I heartily endorse. This is not just for philosophers, scientists, and historians. This should be read by anyone who has seen the rise of science denial, from climate change denial to flat earthers to anti-vaxers, before and during the Trump era. This book reminds us not just how we got to this age of scientific wonders, but points the way towards combatting those who would undermine it.