Science on the Ropes

The author is a former scientist and journalist and now is full professor of Journalism, Science and Society at the Carlos III University of Madrid and UNED (The Spanish Open University). His research focuses on the relationship between policy-making, science, technology and mass media culture. He has been a visiting scholar at the London School of Economics and at Harvard University. He is one of the European academics most interested in uniting the two cultures of Snow - science and humanities - as a way to improve the economic, social and cultural future of Europe.

“This is a great virtue of Science on the Ropes, which tackles the impending destruction of Western culture with strong and explicit arguments from an integrative perspective typical of an Enlightenment scientist. It does so with courage and without concessions. Furthermore, it maintains the ultimate goal of stimulating both a rigorous debate in the academic community and the progress of scientific and technological knowledge that, ultimately, defines us as a society and constitutes the foundation of Western civilization.” (Francisco Lopez‑Cantos, Metascience, Vol. 30 (1), February 6, 2021)

• Introduction.- Preparing the trip.- Why is there a decline in science.- An economic system that strangles science.- Films and television in the collapse of the science culture.- Postmodern philosophy, university and academic power in favor of irrationality.- Literary (and mythological) hegemony vs. scientific decadence.- Science in the art.- Journalistic (and media) culture and the collapse of science popularization.- Impact Journals and Science.- Scientific language locked in the closet.- Where does it take us to strangle reason and science?- Epilogue.