{"product_id":"black-boxes-how-science-turns-ignorance-into-knowledge-9780190095482","title":"Black Boxes: How Science Turns Ignorance Into Knowledge","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Marco J. Nathan\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Epistemology\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTextbooks and other popular venues commonly present science as a progressive \"brick-by-brick\" accumulation of knowledge and facts. Despite its hallowed history and familiar ring, this depiction is nowadays rejected by most specialists. There currently are two competing models of the scientific\u003cbr\u003eenterprise: \u003cem\u003ereductionism\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eantireductionism\u003c\/em\u003e. Neither provides an accurate depiction of the productive interaction between knowledge and ignorance, supplanting the old metaphor of the \"wall\" of knowledge. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book explores an original conception of the nature and advancement of science. Marco J. Nathan's proposed shift brings attention to a prominent, albeit often neglected, construct--\u003cem\u003ethe black box\u003c\/em\u003e--which underlies a well-oiled technique for incorporating a productive role of ignorance and failure\u003cbr\u003einto the acquisition of empirical knowledge. The black box is a metaphorical term used by scientists for the isolation of a complex phenomenon that they have deliberately set aside or may not yet fully understand. What is a black box? How does it work? How do we construct one? How do we determine\u003cbr\u003ewhat to include and what to leave out? What role do boxes play in contemporary scientific practice? Nathan's monograph develops an overarching framework for thinking about black boxes and discusses prominent historical cases that used it, including Darwin's view of inheritance in his theory of\u003cbr\u003eevolution and the \"stimulus-response model\" in psychology, among others. By detailing some fascinating episodes in the history of biology, psychology, and economics, Nathan revisits foundational questions about causation, explanation, emergence, and progress, showing how the insights of both\u003cbr\u003ereductionism and antireductionism can be reconciled into a fresh and exciting approach to science.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46417772478615,"sku":"9780190095482","price":11169.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780190095482.webp?v=1769068519","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/black-boxes-how-science-turns-ignorance-into-knowledge-9780190095482","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}