Michael Strevens Livres

The book delves into the paradox of science's immense power and its delayed emergence in human history. It argues that the essence of scientific inquiry lies in its practitioners' willingness to disregard traditional influences like religion and philosophy, focusing instead on observation and experimentation. Through compelling historical examples, it challenges conventional beliefs about scientific discovery, presenting a radical perspective on the nature of knowledge and the evolution of scientific thought.

A groundbreaking and timely analysis of how science works and how we can preserve its power to grow our knowledge Over the last three centuries, huge leaps in our scientific understanding and, as a result, in our technology have completely transformed our way of life and our vision of the universe. Why is science so powerful? And why did we take so long to invent it - two thousand years after the invention of philosophy, mathematics and other disciplines that are the mark of civilization? The Knowledge Machine gives a radical answer, exploring how science calls on its practitioners to do something not supremely rational but rather apparently irrational: strip away all previous knowledge - such as theological or metaphysical beliefs - in order to channel unprecedented energy into observation and experiment. Rich with tales of discovery and misadventure, like Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens, Strevens's stimulating and highly original investigation reframes what we thought we knew about the origins of the modern world.