Why trust science?
- Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2019
- x, 360 p. ; 23 cm.
- University Center for Human Values series .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
This book explains why the social character of scientific knowledge makes it trustworthy and why social character is its greatest strength--for example, why we should trust doctors on vaccine safety, or climate experts on the perils of global warming. It traces the history and philosophy of science from the late nineteenth century to today, and explains that the trustworthiness of scientific claims derives from the social process by which they are rigorously vetted.