"Evidence of a flight from reason is as old as human record-keeping: the fact of it certainly goes back an even longer way. Flight from science specifically, among the forms of rational inquiry, goes back as far as science itself... But rejection of reason is now a pattern to be found in most branches of scholarship and in all the learned professions."--from the introduction
In the widely acclaimed Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels with Science, Paul R. Gross and Norman Levitt offered a spirited response to the "science bashers", raising serious questions about the growing criticism of scientific practice from humanists and social scientists on the academic left. Now, in The Flight from Science and Reason, Gross and Levitt are joined by Martin W. Lewis to bring together a diverse and distinguished group of scholars, scientists, and experts to engage these questions from a wide variety of perspectives.
The authors take on critics of science whose views range from moderate to extreme, from social constructivists to deconstructionists, from creationists and feminists to Afro-centrists. They discuss the rise of "alternative medicine" and radical environmentalism (here skewered as "ecosentimentalism"). They explain why the "uncertainty principle" does not work as a metaphor for ambiguity, and why "chaos theory" cannot be invoked without an understanding of mathematics. Throughout, they grapple with the paradox inherent in arguing with opponents who contend that reason itself, and thus logic, is suspect. 
Distributed for the New York Academy of Sciences

The Flight from Science and Reason (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Science & Math

New York Academy of Sciences

The Baked Apple?: Metropolitan New York in the Greenhouse (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Most of the world's climate scientists agree that we are likely to face global climate change due to the emission of "greenhouse gases," chiefly carbon dioxide. The United States, along with more than one hundred other nations, has pledged to "take precautionary measures" aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Yet there is widespread public unawareness about precisely what global climate change could mean. In this volume a distinguished group of contributors considers the steps that may be necessary to prepare the nation's largest city for the consequences of global climate change. Chapter topics include the scientific basis of the greenhouse effect, economic and population projections, waterfront planning, land use and infrastructure planning, water resources and wastewater management, air quality and health effects, transportation planning, building design and maintenance, and energy supply and demand. By positing future scenarios and identifying actions to be taken now to sustain the present quality of life, this volume anticipates problems and solutions in the case of a global climate change. Contributors: A.J. Broccoli, R.B. Armstrong, H.B. Haff, R. Zimmerman, R. Alpern, L.I. Kleinman, F. W. Lipfert, J.C. Falcocchio, L. Audin, S.C. Morris III, G.A. Goldstein, A. Sanghi, D. Hill, Edward O. Sullivan, Ruth W. Messinger, M.J. Bowman, R. L. Swanson, S. Reven, A. Mooney, S. Bowman, W. Tusa, P.A. Chin, S. Tanikawa-Oglesby, S.C. Morris III, M.H. Garrell, A. Bryson, J. Box, P. Jessup, R. Meyninger, E.A. Parson, R.R. Ruggieri.

Earth Sciences

In Queens, Queen Mothers, Priestesses, and Power Flora E.S. Kaplan brings together a group of noted authorities to offer an in-depth look at women who belong to royal and elite groups in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on original research conducted mostly in Nigeria, the Cameroon, Ghana, and the Republic of Benin, these eighteen case studies offer a fascinating and multidisciplinary portrayal of African women who exercise power in both the temporal and spiritual arenas.Beginning with the sources of and routes to women's power, the authors examine avenues open to women in their society, focusing on the roles of queen, queen mother, and priestess as they are variously defined and applied among West Africans (i.e., Yoruba, Igbo, and the Benins, in Nigeria, in Dahomey [Republic of Benin] and the Asante, in Ghana). They then examine the acquisition and exercise of both political and ritual power, including the parameters imposed by marriage, slavery, concubinage, and tradition, as well as those created by customary and colonial courts. They discuss African notions of property, ownership, ascribed and achieved positions, and old and new offices. Finally, they explore women's daily lives as lived and as represented in art and craft, in oral tradition and text, in ideology and performance.Contributors: Wande Abimbola, Nigel Barley, Sandra T. Barnes, Edna G. Bay, Gracia Clark, Adesuwa C. Emovon, Thoko Ginindza, Helen Henderson, Sabine Jell-Bahlsen, Flora E. S. Kaplan, Alexander Lopasic, Beverly B. Mack, J. Lorand Matory, Flora Nwapa, Jacob K. Olupona, John Picton, and Beverly J. Stoeltje.

Queens, Queen Mothers, Priestesses, and Power: Case Studies in African Gender (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Anthropologists have increasingly noted that immigrants live their lives across borders and maintain close ties to home, even when their countries of origin and settlement are geographically distant. Forging links at a variety of levels--familial, economic, social, organizational, religious, and political--these immigrants maintain a high level of involvement in both their home and host societies. To describe this new way of life, some social scientists have begun to use the term "transnational." In this volume, a noted group of researchers explores the implications of this new global phenomenon.The authors begin by linking the emergence of transnationalism to changes in the global economy, especially the extensive penetration of capital into the third world. They suggest the transnational lives of contemporary migrants call into question the bounded conceptualizations of race, class, ethnicity, and nationalism which pervade both social science and popular thinking. They then discuss the construction of migrants' transnational identity, exploring transformations of class practices and racial categories, as well the restructuring of women's and men's lives in the deployment of cultural capital. Finally, they examine the relationship between transnational populations and nation states as well as the challenge posed to nationalism by the existence of these transnational populations.Contributors: Lambros Comitas, Nina Glick Schiller, Linda Basch, Cristina Blanc-Szanton, Roger Rouse, Johanna Lessinger, Eurenia Georges, Carolle Charles, Aihwa Ong, Bela Feldman-Bianco, Rosina Wiltshire, Karen Richman, Barry Goldberg, Delmos Jones, Palmira Rios, Gerald Sider, Constance R. Sutton, and Antonio Lauria-Perricelli.

Towards a Transnational Perspective on Migration: Race, Class, Ethnicity, and Nationalism Reconsidered (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 645)

Linda Basch

Cristina Blanc-Szanton

History

Cancer is the second leading cause of death for children in the Western world. Rates of remission, survival, and cure of childhood malignancy may well represent the best measurements of the sophistication and efficiency of medical services provided to children in particular societies.In Challenges and Opportunities in Pediatric Oncology Frederick F. Holmes and his co-authors provide information that will help close the gap between basic and clinical sciences in pediatric oncology and between countries with the most advanced treatment and those striving to join them. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the authors discuss all aspects of childhood malignancy, from basic research to clinical trials to supportive care, as well as relating the day-to-day practice of those who care for children with cancer.Topics include Molecular genetics and transplantation; clinical application of basic science knowledge; gliomas in infants and children; other tumors of the central nervous system; and consequences of treatment and screening.

Challenges and Opportunities in Pediatric Oncology (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Medical Books

Medicine

Technological change creates both challenges and opportunities for global economic competitiveness and for the continued enhancement of societal welfare. The challenges and opportunities are complex; neither will be easily met. In this book a distinguished group of government, corporate, and university leaders explores the tangle of policy dilemmas, domestic and international, which confront a technology-intense world.The authors begin by exploring the formulation of technology policy in such areas as national security, defense and cryptography. They examine environmental issues ranging from emissions standards and the future of the electric vehicle to world population projections. They discuss ways of spurring growth in America's research-intensive industries, including a look at integrating the military and civilian technology base. Finally, they address such global issues as trade negotiations, financial services, and recent developments in Russian and China.

Science, Technology, and the Economic Future (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Business & Money

Economics

Understanding the physiological and psychological changes that take place during childhood, puberty, and adolescence is crucial for the prevention of ills that afflict adult society. The study of these fields is interdisciplinary, and pediatric and adolescent gynecology serve primary roles.
In this book George Creatsas, George Mastorakos, and their co-authors present both basic and clinical information without neglecting the psychological and social behavior of teenaged girls. Topics covered include gynecological and endocrinological physiology from adolescence to adulthood, the endometrium and menstrual cycle, disorders of the ovarian cycle and puberty, endometriosis, female genital tract malignancies during puberty, gynecological surgical procedures during adolescence, and genetic disorders during adolescence. The subject of of adolescent sexuality and reproduction in relation to recent trends in contraception is also addressed.

Adolescent Gynecology and Endocrinology (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease characterized by organ system damage (for example, to the skin and kidneys) and is often accompanied by fever, seizures, and malaise. The epidemiology of the disease is complex, reflecting the multiple genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors that contribute to it. Although the overall prevalence varies, the relatively high incidence among women of childbearing age (about one in a thousand) is evidence of the influence of hormonal factors, while the fact that relatives are also affected gives weight to the genetic component.In Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Patricia M. Moore and Robert G. Lahita bring together a multidisciplinary group of experts to explore neurological and psychiatric aspects of this disease. Topics include stress, strokes, and seizures; cerebrovascular disease; neuroendocrine aspects of systemic lupus erythematosus; and autoanitbodies and SLE.

Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Health care is in transition. Demographics are changing. The world is aging. Resources are strained, and organizational methods for preventing and curing disease (and then paying the bills) are constantly shifting. In Life Sciences and Health Challenges Susan Raymond brings together a distinguished group of contributors to offer a global view of major public health issues.The authors begin with an overview of global public health collaboration. They then discuss such research priorities as childhood vaccination and the role of academic health centers. They examine the challenges of resurgent infectious diseases; disease surveillance and control; reproductive health; contraceptive research; and the special challenges offered by development of biological weapons. The book concludes with a look at policies and partnerships on the biotech frontier.Contributors are Barry R. Bloom, William C. Richardson, Margaret Hamburg, Joshua Lederberg, Stephen S. Morse, Timothy E. Wirth, Margaret Catley-Carlson, Allan Rosenfield, Michael E. Kafrissen, and Richard Danzig.

Life Sciences and Health Challenges (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Administration & Medicine Economics

Stress of Life: From Molecules to Man (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences)

Well into the twentieth century, the scientific study of disease emphasized "specificity"--that is, those characteristics that defined a given disease by distinguishing it from others. But in the 1930s a young Hungarian medical student named Hans Seyle noticed that patients with different diseases often exhibited identical symptoms. They just "looked sick." Investigating this phenomenon in the course of his distinguished career, Seyle gave it a name that became a household word--stress. Seyle published his findings in a variety of scientific and popular venues, including his best-selling book, The Stress of Life.
The contributors to the present volume--including eleven recipients of the award given in Seyle's honor--represent a wide variety of scientific disciplines, from chemistry and molecular biology to psychology and dentistry. Topics include heat-shock proteins; expression of heat-shock proteins; stress response in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; plant stress; environmental stress; physiological mediators of stress response; stress of infections; stress and aging; and psychosocial stress.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

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