My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/C7119.aspx
All Greenwood Products
Methods and Morals in the Life Sciences A Guide for Analyzing and Writing Texts
(Click to Enlarge)
This book is not currently available for purchase Online. Please call 1-800-225-5800 to backorder.
Wim J. van der Steen, Vincent K. Y. Ho
with contributions by Dorine Bax, Harry Cook, and Arjen Groen
Book Code: C7119
ISBN: 0-275-97119-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-97119-9
224 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 4/30/2001
List Price: $99.95 (UK Sterling Price: £57.95)
Availability: Out of stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • A rather useful source of ideas for critical thinking as a science. . . . Since the critical philosophical issues are commonly not discussed in scientific training, the book could make writers in the life sciences aware of problems they might not otherwise consider.
    —The Quarterly Review of Biology     March 2002
Description: Most researchers would be amazed to discover that opinions they have about cherished themes in biology and medicine are biased. Van der Steen and Ho contend that logic and methodology are not well applied in biology and medicine, arguing that the impact of social and moral factors on claims within these two disciplines is underestimated. In response to this situation, Van der Steen and Ho present tools from logic and ethics for assessing existing literature. These tools will help to create sound articles and materials in the life sciences. After reviewing logic and methodological approaches, broad guidelines are used to place science in a social context. Examples from life sciences illustrate the implementation of logic, methodology, and guidelines in forty-five brief case studies. Each study includes comments on quoted and paraphrased passages from a single article or book. Cross-references facilitate the assimilation of lessons from the text. Students, researchers, and scholars in biology, biomedicine, philosophy, and ethics as applied to the life sciences will find this guide useful in improving their research and writing skills.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • Methodology as Practical Philosophy
  • Introduction
  • Concepts, Statements, and Arguments
  • Hyptheses, Theories, and Explanations
  • Facts and Values
  • Putting Science in Context
  • Introduction
  • A Survey of Guidelines
  • Application: Texts with Comments
  • Introduction
  • Altruism and Egoism
  • Genes, Behavior, and Psychopathology
  • Medication
  • Stress
  • Genetic Engineering
  • Miscellaneous Subjects
  • A Tale of Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
  • Introduction
  • Biased Promotion of Drugs: The Case of NSAIDS by Wim J. van der Steen
  • Response 1: Private Drug Research by Harry Cook
  • Response 2: Diet Therapy as a Viable Alternative for NSAIDS by Dorine Bax
  • Response 3: NSAIDS in the Netherlands: The View of a General Practitioner by Arjen Groen
  • Appendix to Part IV: Improving Style
  • Postlude
  • Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 00-052869
LCC Class: R118
Dewey Class: 808
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2008 Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport CT 06881, (203) 226-3571