Clashes of Knowledge: Orthodoxies and Heterodoxies in Science and Religion: 1 (Knowledge and Space, 1) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1402055544 ISBN 13: 9781402055546

Publisher: Springer, 2008

Synopsis

Do traditional distinctions between "belief" and "knowledge" still make sense? How are differences between knowledge and belief understood in different cultural contexts? This book explores conflicts between various types of knowledge, especially between orthodox and heterodox knowledge systems, ranging from religious fundamentalism to heresies within the scientific community itself. Beyond addressing many fields in the academy, the book discusses learned individuals interested in the often puzzling spatial and cultural disparities of knowledge and clashes of knowledge.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"Clashes of Knowledge" is the first volume of a series called "Knowledge and Space" dealing with spatial disparities of knowledge and the impact of the spatial context on the production and application of knowledge. The contributions in this book explore the conflicts between various types of knowledge, especially between orthodox and heterodox knowledge systems, which range from religious fundamentalism to heresies within the scientific community itself. Does the traditional distinction between "belief" and "knowledge" still make sense? How is the difference between knowledge and belief understood in different cultural contexts? How have the religious-based knowledge systems been displaced in their hegemonic role by "scientific" knowledge? In which ways do the agents of hegemonic, orthodox knowledge interact with the representatives of deviating, heterodox knowledge? These and many other questions are addressed by scholars of geography, history of science, philosophy, psychology, religious studies, sociology, theology, etc. A number of articles describe how scientists attempt to systematically exclude implausible knowledge claims from their disciplines and how the boundaries of science are subject to historical change and to spatial and cultural contexts.

Knowledge systems can also clash at the level of the individual. Why do people often ignore information that contradicts their personal "knowledge"? Under what conditions are people prepared to give up firm beliefs and integrate new information that contradicts their prior knowledge? This book thus addresses many fields in the academy but also learned individuals who are interested in the often puzzling spatial and cultural disparities of knowledge and clashes of knowledge.

Synopsis:

Until very recently, the majority of social scientists and economists believed that the production and application of knowledge as a process was unrelated to the spatial context. Knowledge was seen as universal, as being able to be produced anywhere, i.e. as ubiquitous. New findings in recent years in the fields of Creative Psychology, Science Studies, Actor-Network Theory, Geography of Education, Organization Research, and research in creative milieus and other areas, have highlighted the importance of spatial (local) contexts in the creation and application of new knowledge. These studies have shown that spatial disparities in knowledge (in the broadest sense) are not a short-term transitional event, but a fundamental structural element in science and society. The Department of Geography at Heidelberg University is organizing a series of 10 symposia on the topic "Knowledge and Space" between April 2006 and September 2010. The topic Knowledge and Space covers various interrelated research topics, which are of great political and economical relevance to society.

This is true for the close relationship between knowledge and power, knowledge and socioeconomic development, symbolic knowledge and political conflicts, as well as the great regional and cultural disparities between the production and application of knowledge.

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1402055544
• ISBN 13: 9781402055546
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 238
• Editor: Meusburger Peter, Welker Michael, Wunder Edgar