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Call for Abstracts for an Online Workshop on September 11–15, 2023. Deadline: May 31, 2023

A review essay on books edited by Edna Ullman-Margalit, The Kaleidoscope of Science & The Prism of Science (The Israel Colloquium: Studies in History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science, Vols. I & II, respectively; Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1986 [see listings in IRPS No. 46]). These volumes bring together highly diverse papers, greatly enhanced by their printed commentaries. Here, papers related especially to European ideas are summarized, including David Kohn's reconstruction of Charles Darwin's theoretical reasoning, & Martin Rudwick's account of a dispute among British geologists in the 1830s. Amos Tversky wrote on the "conjunction fallacy," in which people view a conjunction as more probable than either of its components. Of special interest in the second work are Frank Manuel's study of the role of scientists in European utopias, G. A. Cohen's restatement of Karl Marx's historical materialism, & Emanoel Lee's description of differential efforts in medicine during the Boer War. A. Waters

Reviews The Kaleidoscope of Science, ed. Edna Ullman Margalit (The Israel Colloquium: Studies in History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science. Volume I. 1986) and The Prism of Science, ed. Edna Ullman Margalit (The Israel Colloquium: Studies in History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science. Volume II. 1986). (JLN)

In a footnote to Ernest Gellner's theories on relativism (eg, 1985 & 1987), an objectivist defense of the social sciences is offered on the basis of theories that are successful according to Karl Popper's standards. Contemporary relativism & skepticism about the ability of the social sciences to produce objective or true theories arise out of Thomas Kuhn's (1962) work. It is argued that a good theory offers statements describing the necessary & sufficient conditions for the explanation of a phenomenon. Further, the nonempirical elements of this theory should be acceptable. These criteria are met by any number of social scientific theories, eg, Alexis de Tocqueville's discussion of why religion flourishes in the US. The interpretive elements integral to social scientific theories are discussed in relation to the example of the theories of the origins of modernity. The growth of social scientific knowledge offers reason to be optimistic about the theoretical successes of sociology. 28 References. H. von Rautenfeld

"Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) was one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century, producing clear theories and innovative research that continue to shape multiple disciplines. Merton's reach can be felt in the study of social structure, social psychology, deviance, professions, organizations, culture, and science. Yet for all his fame, Merton is only partially understood. He is treated by scholars as a functional analyst, when in truth his contributions transcend paradigm