Bøker av Helen E. Longino

Deals with the complexities of human behavioral research, a domain still dominated by the age-old debate of "nature versus nurture." The author dissects five approaches to the study of behavior - quantitative behavioral genetics, molecular behavior genetics, developmental psychology, neurophysiology and anatomy, and social/environmental methods.

Examining theories of human evolution and of prenatal hormonal determination of "gender-role" behavior, of sex differences in cognition, and of sexual orientation, the author shows how assumptions laden with social values affect the description, presentation, and interpretation of data.

Seeking to break the deadlock in the ongoing wars between philosophers of science and sociologists of science, this text argues that social interaction actually assists us in securing firm, rationally-based knowledge, clarifying the philosophical points at issue.