The Future of the Sciences and Humanities
Title
The Future of the Sciences and Humanities
Subtitle
Four Analytical Essays and a Critical Debate on the Future of Scholastic Endeavour
Price
€ 54,95 excl. VAT
ISBN
9789053565667
Format
Paperback
Number of pages
242
Language
English
Publication date
Dimensions
14.8 x 21 cm
Table of Contents
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Table of Contents - 8 Preface - 6 1 The Sciences and Arts Debate - 10 2 Historical and Structural Approaches in the Natural and Human Sciences - 20 Discussion: The Role of Laws and Contingency in History - 56 3 Science and Society in Flux - 64 Discussion: Does A New Kind of Science Require a New Kind of Scholar or a New Kind of University? - 92 4 Science for the 21st Century - 100 Discussion: Redrawing Disciplinar Boundaries – but to What Degree? - 150 5 Science and Democracy - 154 Discussion: Science and Democracy: a Difficult Relationship - 222 6 Epilogue - 228 7 Appendix - 232

Maarten van Veen

The Future of the Sciences and Humanities

Four Analytical Essays and a Critical Debate on the Future of Scholastic Endeavour

The arts and sciences evolve by specialisation and broadening of their scopes. Much innovation results from unusual combinations of views and techniques originating in widely different domains. However, stepping outside an established discipline entails the danger of ‘shallowness’, even if the primary challenge was a ‘deep’ integration problem. Acceptance of new departures requires recognition and understanding of what is involved, and this depends, among other things, on the adopted nomenclature of the insiders and the resulting perception by outsiders.Thus, current ways of referring to varieties of research and study - say, 'sciences' vs 'humanities' - often form obstacles to the appreciation of novel approaches. New views are necessary. But which angles must be considered?
Author

Maarten van Veen

P.A.J. Tindemans is the president of Global Knowledge Strategies & Partnerships of the Dutch Society of Sciences and Arts (OCW). A.A.Verrijn-Stuart is an emeritus professor of information science at the University of Leiden. R.P.W. Visser is a professor of natural science at the University of Leiden.