Nonsense on Stilts

Massimo Pigliucci

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780226495996
• eBook ISBN: 9780226496047
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Epistemology in Philosophy
• Index: Biological Sciences

Recent polls suggest that fewer than 40 percent of Americans believe in Darwin's theory of evolution, despite it being one of science's best-established findings. Parents still refuse to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link has been consistently disproved. And about 40 percent of Americans believe that the threat of global warming is exaggerated, including many political leaders.

In this era of fake news and alternative facts, there is more bunk than ever. But why do people believe in it? And what causes them to embrace such pseudoscientific beliefs and practices? In this fully revised second edition, noted skeptic Massimo Pigliucci sets out to separate the fact from the fantasy in an entertaining exploration of the nature of science, the borderlands of fringe science, and—borrowing a famous phrase from philosopher Jeremy Bentham—the nonsense on stilts. Presenting case studies on a number of controversial topics, Pigliucci cuts through the ambiguity surrounding science to look more closely at how science is conducted, how it is disseminated, how it is interpreted, and what it means to our society. The result is in many ways a "taxonomy of bunk" that explores the intersection of science and culture at large.

No one—neither the public intellectuals in the culture wars between defenders and detractors of science nor the believers of pseudoscience themselves—is spared Pigliucci's incisive analysis in this timely reminder of the need to maintain a line between expertise and assumption. Broad in scope and implication, Nonsense on Stilts is a captivating guide for the intelligent citizen who wishes to make up her own mind while navigating the perilous debates that will shape the future of our planet.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction   Science versus Pseudoscience and the “Demarcation Problem”
• chapter 1   Frustrating Conversations
• chapter 2   Hard Science, Soft Science
• chapter 3   Almost Science
• chapter 4   Pseudoscience
• chapter 5   Blame the Media?
• chapter 6   Debates on Science: The Rise of Think Tanks and the Decline of Public Intellectuals
• chapter 7   From Superstition to Natural Philosophy
• chapter 8   From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science
• chapter 9   The Science Wars I: Do We Trust Science Too Much?
• chapter 10   The Science Wars II: Do We Trust Science Too Little?
• chapter 11   The Problem and the (Possible) Cure: Scientism and Virtue Epistemology
• chapter 12   Who’s Your Expert?
• conclusion   So, What Is Science after All?
• Notes
• Index