Preview
  • Science in an Age of Unreason

  • By: John Staddon
  • Narrated by: Ralph Lister
  • Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (14 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Science in an Age of Unreason

By: John Staddon
Narrated by: Ralph Lister
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.22

Buy for $13.22

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Science is undergoing an identity crisis! A renowned psychologist and biologist diagnoses our age of wishful, magical thinking and blasts out a clarion call for a return to reason and the search for objective knowledge and truth. Fans of Matt Ridley and Nicholas Wade will adore this trenchant meditation and call to action.

Science is in trouble. Real questions in desperate need of answers—especially those surrounding ethnicity, gender, climate change, and almost anything related to “health and safety”—are swiftly buckling to the fiery societal demands of what ought to be rather than what is. These foregone conclusions may be comforting, but each capitulation to modernity’s whims threatens the integrity of scientific inquiry. Can true, fact-based discovery be redeemed?

In Science in an Age of Unreason, legendary professor of psychology and biology, John Staddon, unveils the identity crisis afflicting today’s scientific community, and provides an actionable path to recovery. With intellectual depth and literary flair, Staddon answers pressing questions, including: Is science, especially the science of evolution, a religion? Can ethics be derived from science at all? How sound is social science, particularly surrounding today’s most controversial topics? How can passions be separated from facts?

Informed by decades of expertise, Science in an Age of Unreason is a clarion call to rebirth academia as a beacon of reason and truth in a society demanding its unconditional submission.

©2022 John Staddon (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Science in an Age of Unreason

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A surprisingly unscientific approach

I was fascinated by the concept of this book, though quickly became disillusioned by the author. It's not necessarily how agreeable the points are (I agree with a lot of his points and disagree with others), it's that the basis for many of his arguments aren't based on rigorous science. With a tendency to cherry pick studies to prove his points and a romanticization of scientists of the past, many of his arguments fall apart, and, more importantly, seemingly invalidate his authority to be an expert voice on the current state of science and politics. The rhetoric also displays a personal bitterness and passion that he advocates against, occasionally reading like a poorly researched but highly impassioned Facebook or Twitter rant.

The argument that science is flooded with political, economic, and social influences, to me, seems valid (although it's worth noting that some topics become taboo for more complex reasons than political correctness), I would just like a more scientific approach to the concept. Would not recommend unless doing cross-referential research. If interested in the topic, I'd start with either The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Gould, or Behave by Robert Sapolsky.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!