“Stegenga’s deeply informed and wide-ranging discussions address numerous traditional issues in the philosophy of science, offering original and lucidly defended new alternatives.  As he sees, the perspective presented here is likely to illuminate questions beyond the many that he covers. In particular, his elegant account of the norms of scientific assertion brings new precision to controversies about how scientific research can properly affect social policies. Within the academy and more broadly, the proposals and arguments assembled here are likely to do much good.”

Philip Kitcher, author of “The Rich and the Poor”

“In this exciting new book, Stegenga argues that the goals of science need to be radically reconceived. Rejecting the idea that the goal is truth or predictive accuracy, he maintains that the goal of science is to achieve common knowledge, not only about which claims are true, but also about the justificatory reasons that license those claims. Stegenga centers his story on the idea that science is a social process and applies his account of common knowledge to a wide range of important topics: 1) the difference between science and pseudo-science, 2) the role of ethical and political values in the scientific process, 3) the norms that scientists should abide by in deciding what to assert in professional publications and in deciding what to say in articles aimed at the general public, 4) how scientific progress ought to be understood, 5) how rewards and credit should be distributed for scientific achievements, and 6) how the norms for ‘fast science’ (for example, the immediate scientific response to a public-health crisis) should differ from those for ‘slow science.’ Stegenga provides illuminating arguments and counterarguments, which flesh out his big picture.”

Elliott Sober, author of “The Philosophy of Evolutionary Theory”