<i>Scientism: The New Orthodoxy</i> is a rich and rewarding collection of essays from a wide range of perspectives. I can easily envision parts of it being taught — perhaps alongside more fundamental work in the philosophy of science and epistemology — in upper-level undergraduate or graduate seminars that want to engage contemporary intellectual life and the relations between science and philosophy. I hope it finds a wide readership among philosophers and other humanities scholars, as well as among scientists and the broader public.
- Jeroen De Ridder, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands,
Overall, the volume provides points of entry into the worries philosophers of several different schools have raised about scientism. Readers who have encountered attempts to adjudicate social-scientific, humanistic, or religious claims on the basis of the natural sciences and come away thinking something is amiss will find here several candidate diagnoses and critiques ... The book's optimal home might be courses in which the individual articles could provide occasion for such contextualization and further critical discussion.
- Steven Horst, Wesleyan University, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
<i>Scientism: The New Orthodoxy</i> is a rich and rewarding collection of essays from a wide range of perspectives. I can easily envision parts of it being taught — perhaps alongside more fundamental work in the philosophy of science and epistemology — in upper-level undergraduate or graduate seminars that want to engage contemporary intellectual life and the relations between science and philosophy.
Notre Dame Philosophical Review
Scientism is an over reliance on or overconfidence in the sciences as the only route to reliable knowledge. It is motivated by successful and effective technological outcomes that suggest scientific methods are a great, if not the best, source of knowledge for addressing any and all problems … This eclectic volume, which varies widely in style and scope, includes historical perspectives on scientism, religion, culture, and the humanities; critical assessments of cognitive neuroscience and neuroethics; and reflections on naturalism in epistemology. Two messages emerge from the variety: <i>scientism</i> must be distinguished from the <i>sciences</i>, and the practices and results of the sciences require explicit interpretation … <b>Summing Up:</b> Recommended. Graduate students and faculty.
- A. C. Love, University of Minnesota, CHOICE