Science and Subjectivity

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That the ideal of objectivity has been fundamental to science is beyond question. The philosophical task is to assess and interpret this ideal: to ask how, if at all, objectivity is possible. This task is especially urgent now, when received opinions as to the sources of objectivity in science are increasingly under attack. The notion of a fixed observational given, of a constant descriptive language, of a shared methodology of investigation, of a rational community advancing its knowledge of the real world - all have been subjected to severe and mounting criticism from a variety of directions.... A philosophical examination, not only of the current criticisms, but of the epistemological bases of a viable objectivism, is thus a matter of first importance. In the following lectures, I outline some efforts to contribute to such an examination. --- excerpts from book's Preface