Putting Science in Its Place

"In putting science in its place in a metaphorical as well as a literal sense, Livingstone is not attempting to 'unmask' or debunk science as 'nothing but' a social construct. He takes the enormous achievements of science for granted . . . but he insists that science is always grounded in particular times and places. It is a brilliant achievement."--John Stenhouse "Books and Culture" "It might seem strange that an enterprise as obviously universal and successful as the natural sciences depends decisively on where it is pursued. But in this perceptively written and fascinatingly illustrated survey, David Livingstone shows conclusively just how the spaces and places of knowledge work and why they matter. An expert historian of science and thoughtful analyst of geography's relation with social change, Livingstone is superbly equipped to deliver this important lesson: He turns a mass of detailed studies into a moving story of laboratories and museums, hospitals and gardens, illuminates the range of sites at which science has been pursued and explains how these sites have affected the knowledge made there. The scope of this short book is remarkable. From now on, we will read maps, charts and floorplans with more understanding of their meanings for the way we know the world. Challenging and vital issues such as the variation of scientific styles between Europe and Asia, the dramas of the Scientific Revolution, the comparative reception of Darwinism, or the relation between theology and the sciences, are all given freshly compelling approaches in this clever work. A closing chapter offers exciting prospects for advances in the new field of historical geography of knowledge--Livingstone restores scientists' biographies and sciences' rationality to their proper places. This highly accessible book will be indispensable for citizens concerned with the situation of the sciences in our society, and especially for those who care about the fate of local expertise in global knowledge economies.--Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge "Books and Culture" "Scientific knowledge and scientific work are inherently geographical. Its very claims to universality betray science's inherently spatial nature. Surveying the places where science happens, the regional and territorial impress upon its constitution and reception, and the channels through which scientific materials and ideas travel, David Livingstone provides a coherent and convincing demonstration of science's geographies, elegantly enriching our understanding of both endeavours."--Denis Cosgrove, University of California, Los Angeles "Books and Culture" In this highly readable and richly detailed study, Livingstone addresses familiar issues about the use and abuse of geographic tools and concepts, but his primary emphasis is on the sites of the production of scientific knowledge and the diffusion of ideas and practices from those sites. . . . It is also a reader-friendly book with ample and often intriguing illustrations and a carefully prepared and comprehensive bibliographic essay. . . . Livingstone's lively narrative and breadth of knowledge make it a book of interest for the expert and general reader alike.--J. Nicholas Entrikin "Annals of the Association of American Geographers" No one will begrudge the idea that 'places' are often important to the relevant science, or even that 'micro-geography' could be useful for discussing them.... David Livingstone's mission is to convert to the micro-geographical cause all who are guilty of treating place as a poor relation of time. --John North "Times Literary Supplement" As David Livingstone explains in Putting Science in Its Place, geography has always had a profound influence on both the generation and acceptance of scientific ideas. We assume that physical constants are the same when measured in Indiana or India but it seems that more abstract concepts must adapt to l

David N. Livingstone is professor of geography and intellectual history at Queen's University Belfast. A Fellow of the British Academy and a member of both the Academia Europaea and the Royal Irish Academy, he is the author of numerous books, including The Geographical Tradition: Episodes in the History of a Contested Enterprise and Adam's Ancestors: Race, Religion and the Politics of Human Origins.