Fads and Fallacies in the Social Sciences

by Steven Goldberg

Steven Goldberg has devoted his career to exposing fallacious reasoning, misrepresented fact, and ideological agendas in the social sciences. His scholarly critiques offer alternative, and sometimes controversial, explanations that are notable for their logical integrity and loyalty to empirical reality. Best known for his work in the physiological roots of sex differences, he has also written on a myriad of other subjects, which, as he bluntly states, "are as fallaciously reasoned in professional journals as in the cocktail party conversations that naively repeat the errors first propounded in those journals."

In this new collection of essays he is as lively, interesting, and provocative as ever. Among the subjects addressed are the validity of intelligence tests, group differences, the death penalty, sex differences in aggression and cognition, the family, abortion, and the nature of modern society. Also included are a couple of polemics, observations on the O. J. Simpson trial, and a moving encomium to his hero, Jackie Robinson.

Goldberg's work has been praised by reviewers as "persuasive and accurate"(Margaret Mead); "coolly, tightly, even brilliantly reasoned" (Morton Kaplan); and "the most significant . . . on the subject in decades" (Murray Rothbard). Readers who appreciate razor-sharp rigor and logical elegance will be richly rewarded by these essays on many of the most hotly contested issues of the social sciences.

Genres: Sociology, Social Science, Philosophy, Science, Nonfiction

230 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's nice to have a disinterested, agnostic, empiracist take the side of biology-based sexual difference. Very curious and worth reading if for no other reason than to see which assumption of your goldberg hits on.

[Abood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-examine what you take for granted.