Science, Understanding, and Justice

This collection of essays, written between 1972 and 1999 by the late Professor Martin Eger, deals with controversial and topical issues in philosophy of science, education, and morality. The book also features exchanges between Eger and other leading philosophers, including a dialogue with Eger's colleague and friend, the eminent philosopher, Abner Shimony, who edits this volume and contributes an account of Eger's life, work, and importance to modern philosophical debates. Eger applied the hermeneutic approach, associated with Habermas, Heidegger, and Gadamer, to issues of science, education, and ethics. A prominent aspect of the book is Eger's concern with how concepts of science are conveyed to the general public through popularizations, like those of E.O. Wilson, Douglas Hofstadter, and Roger Penrose.