Books by John M. Ziman

In this 1976 volume, Professor Ziman paints a broad picture of science, and of its relations to the world in general. Each topic is introduced by reference to easily understandable particular examples, with a large number of illustrations chosen to bring out the concreteness and reality of science as a human activity.

In this book, originally published in 1987, John Ziman seeks the answers to crucial questions facing scientists who need to change the direction of their careers. Drawing upon transcripts of open-ended discussions with groups of active scientists he reveals that scientists are often much more technically versatile than they appear.

Philosophical puzzles, political problems, ethical enigmas - science has them all. Is research a gentlemanly art or a tough professional game? How can research be made relevant to national development? Is war good for physics? How does information become knowledge? These and many other topics on the human side of science are discussed in this wide ranging book, originally published in 1981.

Reliable Knowledge offers at once a valuably clear account and a radically challenging investigation of the credibility of scientific knowledge, searching widely across a range of disciplines for evidence about the perceptions, paradigms and analogies on which all our understanding depends.

The purpose of this book is to give a coherent account of the different perspectives on science and technology that are normally studied under various disciplinary heads such as philosophy of science, sociology of science and science policy. It is intended for students embarking on courses in these subjects and assumes no special knowledge of any science. It is written in a direct and simple style, and technical language is introduced very sparingly. As various perspectives are sketched out in this book, the reader moves towards a consistent conception of contemporary science as a rapidly changing social institution that has already grown out of its traditional forms and plays a central role in society at large. It will appeal to students in a wide range of scientific disciplines and complement well Professor Ziman's earlier books.

'Science, Technology, and Society' - STS - has become a major educational theme. There are many courses in schools, universities and other institutions, dealing with all sorts of topics such as the history of science, energy policy, industrial innovation, technology assessment, Third World development, scientific method, and so on. But what is this subject really about?