Title: Fashionable nonsense : postmodern intellectuals' abuse of science /
Authors: Sokal, Alan D., 1955-; Bricmont, J.
Publisher: Picador USA,
Year: 1998
Subjects: Science Philosophy
Abstract: "In 1996, Alan Sokal Published an Essay in the hip intellectual magazine Social Text parodying the scientific but impenetrable lingo of contemporary theorists. On the heels of the fierce academic debate that followed the hoax, Sokal teams up with Jean Bricmont to expose the abuse of scientific concepts in the writings of today's most fashionable postmodern thinkers. From Jacques Lacan and Julia Kristeva to Luce Irigaray and Jean Baudrillard, the authors document the errors made by some postmodernists using science to bolster their arguments and theories. Witty and closely reasoned, Fashionable Nonsense dispels the notion that scientific theories are mere "narratives" or social constructions, and explores the abilities and the limits of science to describe the conditions of existence. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: Introduction -- Jacques Lacan -- Julia Kristeva -- Intermezzo: epistemic relativism in the philosophy of science -- Luce Irigaray -- Bruno Latour -- Intermezzo: chaos theory and "postmodern science" -- Jean Baudrillard -- Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari -- Paul Virilio -- Gödel's theorem and set theory: some examples of abuse -- Epilogue. A. Trangressing the boundaries: toward a transformative hermeneutics of quantum gravity. B. Some comments on the parody. C. Transgressing the boundaries: an afterword.