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I went into this with vague questions regarding how to conceptualize “science�� in time and space (i.e. how does it fit into human history? How to distinguish it? What is its scope of inquiry/use?). After reading this, I see a great need for a study on the political economy of science��

The Good:
--I quite enjoyed the author’s writing style and approach to the topic. Recognizing the inevitable abstraction, this book has a clear structure; the first half is a historical chronology and the latter half follows up on several topics. Plenty of historical examples and thought experiments�� top marks for accessibility (this is half the struggle with philosophy, is it not?).
--After traversing through various intersecting and conflicting landscapes (empiricism, Popper, Kuhn, relativism, naturalism, realism, etc.), it turns out the author’s own inclinations (a late-Dewey “normative naturalism��) is reflected in his style of using scientific and historical examples in his theorizing (as opposed to philosophical foundationalism).

The Missing:
--I was impressed by how wide-ranging and conflicting the philosophy of science is, to the point where I am compelled to always enclose the word “science�� in quotations. But, this is the “nature�� of “philosophy��. There are certain levels of abstraction that bring vivid frameworks and insights to otherwise noisy and opaque complexities. But philosophy frequently reaches levels that bring out the nihilism in me.
--This book helped me clarify my own questions/interests towards “science�� as a whole. I can reserve abstractions like empiricism’s attempts to theorize “science�� using language theory and logic for another life. I find much more compelling the social structure/organization of scientific practice and institutions throughout history��
--Ideas of challenging everything (Nullius in verba), cumulative knowledge, balancing controlled criticism/competition with networks of trust/cooperation, reward systems and interactions between individual and community�� the author mentions these but in my eyes only has the tools to extend these ideas to the intellectual sphere of western liberalism. To integrate further into the messy real-world, I would like to see what political economy can make of this.