Where the Truth Lies: Franz Moewus and the Origins of Molecular Biology

Where the Truth Lies: Franz Moewus and the Origins of Molecular Biology
ISBN-10
0521367514
ISBN-13
9780521367516
Series
Where the Truth Lies
Category
Science
Pages
340
Language
English
Published
1990-06-29
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Authors
Jan Sapp, Department of Biology Faculty of Pure and Applied Science Jan Sapp

Description

Where the Truth Lies is an absorbing account of a case of suspected fraud involving the tragic career of the molecular biologist Franz Moewus that illustrates all that can go wrong in scientific knowledge-making. Jan Sapp follows Moewus' meteoric flight among the greatest scientists of the twentieth century, to his denunciation as the perpetrator of one of the most ambitious cases of fraud in the history of science. The author reopens the case not to vindicate Moewus, but to show the lessons that the controversy reveals to the scientist. Professor Sapp demonstrates how what counts as evidence is negotiated in science, and reveals the difficulties scientists face in objectively testing the validity of their results. The author emphasizes the creative nature of science, the rhetorical nature of scientific reports, and the fictitious elements inherent in the construction and maintenance of scientific knowledge-making and knowledge-breaking claims.

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