Overview

THE SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE presents a systematic account of the cognitive and social features of science. Written by an experimental biologist actively engaged in research, the work is unique in its attempt to understand science in terms of day-to-day practice. The book goes beyond the traditional description of science that focuses on method and logic to characterize the scientific attitude as a way of looking at the world. Professor Grinnell uses examples from biomedical research to describe science at three interdependent levels. At the first level, the individual scientist makes observations, formulates hypotheses, and does experiments. The scientist's thought style determines what can be seen and what it will appear to mean. At the second level, scientists participate in social institutions such as graduate programs, research groups, journal editorial boards, and grant review panels. Each of these institutions tries to promote its own distinctive collective thought style. Finally, at the third level, scientists participate in the world of everyday life beyond science, a world that continuously influences and is influenced by the activities and discoveries of science.

Full Product Details

Author:   Frederick Grinnell
Publisher:   Guilford Publications
Imprint:   Guilford Publications
Edition:   2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.316kg
ISBN:  

9780898620184

ISBN 10:   089862018
Pages:   179
Publication Date:   08 June 1992
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION. 2. MAKING OBSERVATIONS. Observing Cells. Analyzing the Cell Concept. Learning to See Cells. The Cell Gestalt. The Concept of Life. The Impartiality of Science. 3. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND INTERPRETATION. Choosing Problems for Study. Hypotheses and Expectations. The Assumption of Reproducibility. Seeing Data According to Different Gestalts. Luck in Science. Explicit and Implicit Hypotheses. Development of Hypotheses. Structure, Function, and Organization in Biology. 4. SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIVES: TRANSMISSION OF THE THOUGHT STYLE. Thought Collectives and Intersubjectivity. Acceptance of New Discoveries by the Thought Collective. Structure of Graduate Programs. The Reputation of Graduate Programs. Graduate Courses and Exams. Thesis Advisors. Structure of Individual Laboratories. Expanding the Laboratory Thought Style. The Ph.D. Thesis. 5. SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIVES: MAINTAINING THE THOUGHT STYLE. Evaluating Prospective Faculty Members. Research Papers. Research Papers Other Than Formal Papers. Research Funding. Setting the Agenda for Future Research. The Scientific Establishment. 6. SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT: SCIENCE AT RISK. The Meaning of Scientific Misconduct. Biological Activity of an Infinitely Diluted Solution: A Study in Controversy. Error vs. Fraud--Part I: The Baltimore Case. Error vs. Fraud-- Part II: Why Are They Linked Together? Auditing the Scientific Literature. The Integrity of Science. Secrecy and Sharing Research Data and Materials. Conflict of Interest. 7. SCIENCE AND THE WORLD. The Origins of Science in Everyday Life Experience. Life Experience Beyond Science. Science and Religion. Science and Ethics. Scientists as People. The Influence of Politics on Science. 8. CONCLUDING COMMENTS.

Reviews

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University <br> For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University <br>

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.'' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.'' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University -This is a well-written, well-referenced, accessible account of what science is and what it is not. All the important nuts and bolts' are considered, including how science is done, how ideas are transmitted through time and among individual investigators, and how the enterprise is affected by nonscientific influences....That I enjoyed this book as much as I did is evidence that Grinnell has succeeded in his aim to make his views clear to anyone interested in science. I highly recommend this book to all who would like a working understanding of scientific practice. I also endorse its use by those interested in the study of complex human systems.--The Journal of Medical Humanities, 3/8/1992

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University <br> For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University<br>

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.'' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude, a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University The transmission and maintenance of the thought collective serves as the context for Grinnell's discussion of the practical aspects of science: educating new scientists, seeking funding for research, and publishing the results. This is the most immediately useful part of the book....the basic elements are common enough that every graduate student and potential graduate student in science ought to read it. Those who seek to understand how the peer review systems really works will also find this section of the book useful....this last section of Grinnell's book is well written and could well serve as a primer on science for those int he government who seek to regulate it...Grinnell has demonstrated a capacity to shed light on such problems... -- The Quarterly Review of Biology Replete with biomedical examples, this is a well-written, well-referenced, accessible account of what science is and what it is not. All the important 'nuts and bolts' are considered, including how science is done, how ideas are transmitted through time and among individual investigators, and how the enterprise is affected by nonscientific influences....That I enjoyed this book as much as I did is evidence that Grinnell has succeeded in his aim to make his views clear to anyone interested in science. I highly recommend this book to all who would like a working understanding of scientific practice. I also endorse its use by those interested in the study of complex human systems. -- The Journal of Medical Humanities

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude , a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University

The Scientific Attitude presents a clear picture of what scientists actually do. The book offers a succinct statement of the issues and is pitched at the right level for the beginning graduate student. --Tumuo Hoshiko, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University<br><br> For Frederick Grinnell, science is not a spectator sport. He is an active research scientist who has taken the time to stand back and look at how scientific investigations, including his own, are actually conducted. The result is The Scientific Attitude , a book that every student thinking of becoming a scientist should read....I wish that Grinnell's book had been available to me when I was contemplating a career in science.' --David L. Hull, Northwestern University<br>

Author Information

Frederick Grinnell, PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas.

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