Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse Of Science [DJVU]
E-Book Overview
In 1996 Physicist Alan Sokal published an essay in Social Text -- an influential academic journal of cultural studies -- touting the deep similarities between quantum gravitational theory and postmodern philosophy. Soon thereafter, the essay was revealed as a brilliant parody, a catalog of nonsense written in the cutting-edge but impenetrable lingo of postmodern theorists. The event sparked a furious debate in academic circles and made the headlines of newspapers in the U.S. and abroad.Now Sokal and his fellow physicist Jean Bricmont expand from where the hoax left off. In a delightfully witty and clear voice, the two thoughtfully and thoroughly dismantle the pseudo scientific writings of some of the most fashionable French and American intellectuals. More generally, they challenge the widespread notion that scientific theories are mere "narrations" or social constructions. At once provocative and measured, Fashionable Nonsense is a passionate defense of science and sense.
E-Book Information
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Year: 1,998
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Edition: English Edition
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Pages: 300
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Pages In File: 328
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Language: English
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Topic: 180
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Identifier: 0312195451,9780312195458
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Org File Size: 6,293,550
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Extension: djvu
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Toc: Front Cover......Page 1 Front Jacket......Page 2 Title Page......Page 7 Contents......Page 11 Preface to the English Edition......Page 13 1 . Introduction......Page 21 2. Jacques Lacan......Page 38 3. Julia Kristeva......Page 58 4. Intermezzo: Epistemic Relativism in the Philosophy of Science......Page 70 5. Luce Irigaray......Page 126 6. Bruno Latour......Page 144 7. Intermezzo: Chaos Theory and “Postmodern Science......Page 154 8. Jean Baudrillard......Page 167 9. Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari......Page 174 10. Paul Virilio......Page 189 11. Godel’s Theorem and Set Theory: Some Examples of Abuse......Page 196 12. Epilogue......Page 202 A. Transgressing the Boundaries:Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity......Page 232 B. Some Comments on the Parody......Page 279 C. Transgressing the Boundaries: An Afterword......Page 288 Bibliography......Page 301 Index......Page 317 Back Jacket......Page 327 Back Cover......Page 328