Combining Me tasciences: The Concept of Science Progress by Dr. Krauss

Review of the monograph: Alexander Krauss. Science of Science: Understanding the Foundations and Limits of Science from an Interdisciplinary Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024. 185 р. https://doi.org/10.1093/9780198937401.003.0001

Abstract

The concept of integration of numerous metasciences is elaborated on, with interpreting science as a complex socio-cultural institute integrating biological, historical, cognitive, anthropological, statistical, and cultural dimensions. A. Krauss introduces the notion “methodological tower of science” as a central metaphor for understanding interactions of inborn cognitive abilities, tools and methods invented and developed by humans, and scientific knowledge that they help generate together. The review gives summaries of the book sections “Biology of science”, “Archeology of science”, “Cognitive science of science”, “Anthropology of science”, “Scientometrics and network science”, “Computer science of science”, “Statistics and mathematics of science”. It is emphasized that A. Krauss proposes a new, more detailed vision of science compared with approaches set out in works of science of science founders. A. Krauss proposes and substantiates the need for holistic understanding of science of science by setting links between ideas developed by representatives of individual metasciences. He argues that such new science of science, apart from synthesizing other metasciences, lays the ground for original and practically important research of the science per se. A framework for this synthesis and development is built by the methods by which sciences explore their subject fields, i.e. selected dimensions of the reality.