The Discourses of Science (Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Christi) Revised edition by Pera, Marcello (1994) Hardcover

by Marcello Pera

In this greatly anticipated revision and translation of Scienza e Retorica, Marcello Pera argues that rhetoric is central to the making of scientific knowledge. Pera begins with an attack on what he calls the "Cartesian syndrome," the fixation on method shared by supporters of both the "standard" and "new" philosophies of science. He argues that in linking scientific rationality to methodological rules, both sides get it wrong. Scientific knowledge is neither the mirror of nature provided by a universal method, nor a cultural construct imposed by subjective interests. Pera proposes to overcome the tension between normative and descriptive philosophies of science by focusing on rhetoric in the construction and acceptance of theories. Examining the uses of argumentation in Galileo's Dialogue, Darwin's Origin, and the big bang-steady state controversy in cosmology, Pera shows that scientific research is not just an interchange between nature and the observer. Rather, science is a three-way interaction among nature, the investigator, and a questioning community which, through the process of attack, defense, and dispute, determines what science is. Rhetoric, then, understood as the practice of scientific argumentation, is an essential element in the constitution of science. As a powerful alternative to dominant philosophies of science and a bold reconsideration of rhetoric and dialectic more broadly, this book addresses contemporary questions in philosophy, rhetoric, history of science, literary criticism, and cognitive science.

Hardcover

First published December 15, 1994

Reviews

[Vincenzo Politi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important and illuminating book from one of the few philosophers who has analysed in depth the implications of Popper's view of a root-less and foundation-less science. If such is the case, so Pera's argument goes, then "facts" alone are not sufficient to establish any scientific truth whatsoever (following the Popperian principle that in science there are no facts, but only interpreted facts) and, therefore, rhetorics becomes an intrinsic part of the establishment of such truths. Of course, Pera's "rhetorics" is not synonymous with clever ways for persuading and tricking an audience or an interlocutor; rather, strong rhetorical arguments are almost as rational and scientific as the so often invoked "epistemic values".

A stimulating and rewarding reading from a much neglected philosopher of science. (As neglected and marginalised as the rest of the army of non-native-English speaking philosophers, I'm afraid.)