Physics (Internal)
Science, Understanding, and Justice
Readings from and discussions of Martin Eger’s Science, Understanding, and Justice (Open Court, 2006, edited by Abner Shimony, who is the reader)
At The Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA. Repeating at Boston University, details here. Both readings are open to the public.
Martin Eger’s work is the most insightful exploration of the social context of the natural sciences since C.P. Snow’s The Two Cultures, and a vital contribution to contemporary debates over scientific literacy. This collection of essays deals with controversial and topical issues in philosophy of science, education, and morality. Also included are exchanges between Eger and leading philosophers, including a dialogue with Abner Shimony, who edits this volume and contributes an account of Eger’s life, work, and importance. A professional physicist, Eger found that hermeneutic philosophy, associated with Heidegger, Gadamer, and Habermas, had developed techniques for unpacking meanings and for analyzing human claims to knowledge that strikingly parallel the theses of post-empiricist philosophers of physics such as Thomas Kuhn. Eger’s application of hermeneutic methods enabled hermeneutics to be extended from social investigations to investigations of nature, and defended the ideal of objective truth against attacks by post-empiricist philosophers.
“I can’t think of a better introduction to current controversies in philosophy of science and morality. Eger’s writing is wonderfully clear. One senses a person who is both erudite and decent. He successfully uses the methods of hermeneutics to illuminate science education and the impact on the public of popular books on cosmology and evolutionary biology.“—Noretta Koertge, Indiana University.
Martin Eger (1936-2002) received his bachelor’s degree from MIT and his doctorate from Brandeis University, both in physics. He was Professor of Physics at City University of New York, College of Staten Island, which he joined on its founding in 1967. He remained there, with a few short breaks, throughout his professional career, teaching not only physics but also its philosophical implications.
Abner Shimony is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Physics at Boston University. He has contributed to the foundations of quantum mechanics and to scientific methodology. His writings include Search for a Naturalistic World View and the popular scientific novel for children, Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar.