COSMOPOLITICS I

From Einstein s quest for a unified field theory to Stephen Hawking s belief that we would know the mind of God through such a theory contemporary science and physics in particular has claimed that it alone possesses absolute knowledge of the universe In a sweeping work of philosophical inquiry originally published in French in seven volumes Isabelle Stengers builds on her previous intellectual accomplishments to explore the role and authority of science in modern societies and to challenge its pretensions to objectivity rationality and truth For Stengers science is a constructive enterprise a diverse interdependent and highly contingent system that does not simply discover preexisting truths but through specific practices and processes helps shape them She addresses conceptual themes crucial for modern science such as the formation of physical mathematical intelligibility from Galilean mechanics and the origin of dynamics to quantum theory the question of biological reductionism and the power relations at work in the social and behavioral sciences Focusing on the polemical and creative aspects of such themes she argues for an ecology of practices that takes into account how scientific knowledge evolves the constraints and obligations such practi