In the debate leading up to the EU referendum in the United Kingdom, the British politician Michael Gove declared that "people in this country have had enough of experts". In the 2016 Presidential campaign in the United States, Donald Trump waged a war against the very idea of expertise. Yet if you are worried about your child's behaviour, don't know which laptop to buy, or just want to get fit, the answer is easy: ask an expert. Where do we draw the line? Why do we appear to know more and more collectively, yet less and less individually? Has expertise painted itself into a corner? Can we defend both science and common sense? In this engaging and much-needed book Jan Bransen explores these important questions and more. He argues that the rise of behavioural sciences has caused a sea change in the relationship between science and common sense. He shows how - as recently as the 1960s - common sense and science were allies in the battle against ignorance, but that since then populism and chauvinism have claimed common sense as their own. Bransen argues that common sense is a collection of interrelated skills that draw on both an automatic pilot and an investigative attitude where we ask ourselves the right questions. It is the very attitude of open-minded inquiry and questioning that Bransen believes we are at risk of losing in the face of an army of experts. Drawing on fascinating examples such as language and communication, money, the imaginary world of Endoxa, domestic violence, and quality of life, Don't be Fooled: A Philosophy of Common Sense is a brilliant and wry defence of a skill that is a vital part of being human.
Linnaeus, the Swedish taxonomist, was wrong when he named our species Homo sapiens, i.e. wise man. We are not. We do too many senseless, destructive and irresponsible things to deserve that label. Actually, we need to be educated. Fortunately, we can be educated. We can transform ourselves. We are Homo educandus. Sadly, our current school system is broken. In fact, it does not support education. It deforms. This is what Jan Bransen claims in this book. He convincingly argues that our current school system is based on incoherent ideas, among which the notions that people need to study for years on end before they are ready to take part in our society, or that students learn because teachers teach. We can do better than that. In the second part of the book, Bransen points out that we have reasons to be confident and enthusiastic. We can improve our education system. Applying a dramaturgical analysis of human action, Bransen explains what socialization should look like in primary education, how our personal development can be supported in secondary education and how qualification can be organized in dual tracks in higher education, integrating learning, working and living over our course of life.
In this engaging and much-needed book Jan Bransen argues that the rise of behavioural sciences has caused a sea change in the relationship between science and common sense. Drawing on fascinating examples such as language and communication, money, and folk physics, Don't be Fooled: A Philosophy of Common Sense is a brilliant and wry defence of a skill that is a vital part of being human.
Linnaeus, the Swedish taxonomist, was wrong when he named our species Homo sapiens, i.e. wise man. We are not. We do too many senseless, destructive and irresponsible things to deserve that label. Actually, we need to be educated. Fortunately, we can be educated. We can transform ourselves. We are Homo educandus. Sadly, our current school system is broken. In fact, it does not support education. It deforms. This is what Jan Bransen claims in this book. He convincingly argues that our current school system is based on incoherent ideas, among which the notions that people need to study for years on end before they are ready to take part in our society, or that students learn because teachers teach. We can do better than that. In the second part of the book, Bransen points out that we have reasons to be confident and enthusiastic. We can improve our education system. Applying a dramaturgical analysis of human action, Bransen explains what socialization should look like in primary education, how our personal development can be supported in secondary education and how qualification can be organized in dual tracks in higher education, integrating learning, working and living over our course of life.
Ecophysiology of Pesticides: Interface between Pesticide Chemistry and Plant Physiology is the first comprehensive overview of the physical impact of this increasingly complex environmental challenge. Designed to offer state-of-the-art knowledge, the book covers pesticide usage and its consequences on the ecophysiology of plants. It includes the challenge of policymaking in pesticide consumption and a risk analysis of conventional and modern approaches on standard usage. In addition, it summarizes research reports pertaining to the physio-ecological effects of pesticides, discusses the environmental risks associated with the over-utilization of pesticides, and covers pesticide usage on the micro-flora and rhizosphere. This book is a valuable reference for plant ecologists, plant biochemists and chemists who want to study pesticide consumption and its biochemical and physiological evaluation effects on plants. It will also be of immense help to university and college teachers and students of environmental biotechnology, environmental botany and plant ecophysiology. Contains comprehensive coverage of topics on pesticides, environmental ecology and strategies for pesticide control Presents all data available on the intensification of pesticide stress on non-target organisms Includes an appendix of products containing active ingredients
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.