Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 540
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Self, Society And Science: Theoretical And Historical Perspectives Is One Of A Set Of Four Volumes Purported To Broach The Basic Themes Of The Subject, Consciousness, Science, Society Value And Yoga [Conssavy]. This Sub-Project Is A Part And Extension Of The Ongoing Project Of History Of Indian Science, Philosophy And Culture [Phispc]. Science Has Been Descrived Both As Abstract And Concrete. Mathematical Language, Constructive Orientation And The Invisible Universality Of Scientific Laws Make It Abstract. But When Its Dependence On Human Experience And Practice Is Recalled, Science Is Felt To Be Concrete And Close To Common Sense. Science Is Social In A Double Sense. No Individual In His Isolation Can Create Science. He Is Influenced By The Views Of Others, Predecessors And Contemporaries, And Scientific Truth-Claims Need To Be Attested At Least In Principle By All. Sociology Of Science Is A Valid Form Of Knowledge. Without Peer Endorsement And Acceptance No New Scientific Theory Is Recognized As Truly Scientific. Of Course The Validation Of Science Is A More Comprehensive Affair Than The Mere Sociological Approval Of It. In Science, Diverse Information About The World Are Sought To Be Systematized In Terms Of Laws. The Attempted Systematization Of Knowledge In Science Takes Alternative Forms. History And Philosophy Of Science Are Replete With The Examples Of These Alternatives. The Ptolemaic And Copernican Models In Astronomy, The Newtonian And Quantum Physics Are Among The Most Well-Known Examples Of This Point. Not Only Scientific Communities But Also Individual Scientists Author These Changing Alternative Models. Many Philosophically Inclined Scientists Maintain That The Ultimate Principle Of Scientific Systematization Is The Human Self, Psychological Or Presuppositional. The Self Enters The Domain Of Science Both In The Context Of Its Origination And Also In That Of Its Validation. The Self Has Been Explicated Behaviourally, Introspectively And Transcendentally. All These Interpretations Of The Self And Their Relation To The Society And Science Have Been Discussed In The Papers Of This Book. While Some Authors Have Highlighted Historical Perspectives, Others Paid Their Main Attention To The Theoretical Ones.