Why I Am Not a Scientist: Anthropology and Modern Knowledge

341 Pages·2009·3.15 MB·English

by  Jonathan Marks

Why I Am Not a Scientist

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the publisher gratefully acknowledges the
generous support of the general endowment fund
of the university of california press foundation

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why I am NOT a scientist
Anthropology and Modern Knowledge
Jonathan Marks
university of california press

Berkeley LosAngeles London

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University of California Press, one of the most distinguished
university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the
world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences,
and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press
Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals
and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2009 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Marks, Jonathan (Jonathan M.), 1955–

Why I am not a scientist : anthropology and modern knowledge /
Jonathan Marks.
p . c m.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-25959-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-520-25960-7

(pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Anthropology—Philosophy. 2. Science—Philosophy.

3. Evolution (Biology)—Philosophy. I. Title.

gn33.m32 2009
301.01—dc22 2008040508

Manufactured in the United States of America
18 1 7 1 6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 9
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Natures Book, which contains 30% post-
consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso
z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper).

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For Peta and Abby

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Contents
Preface ix
1. Science as a Culture and as a “Side” 1
2. The Scientific Revolution 25
3. Normative Science 50
4. Science as Practice 74
5. The Problem of Creationism 103
6. Bogus Science 129
7. Scientific Misconduct 162
8. The Rise and Fall of Colonial Science 198
9. Racial and Gendered Science 230
10. Nature/Culture 260
Notes 281
Index 315

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Preface
All right, I admit it—I am a scientist. I can no more define myself out of that

category than Bertrand Russell could define himself out of Christianity,
in his 1927 essay to which the title of this book is an homage—“Why I

am not a Christian.”
Lord Russell tried to define himself out of Christianity on narrow
grounds, maintaining his otherness on the basis of denying the existence
of God and immortality and maintaining a fair degree of ambivalence
about Jesus himself.
On the other hand, he wasn’t thinking culturally.
He was, after all, the product of Christian society, Christian history,
Christian morality, Christian literature, and—Jesus Friggin’ Christ!—even

Christian language. His national anthem was “God Save the King.” He
matriculated at Trinity College. Bertrand Russell wasn’t a Muslim, a Jew, or
a Hindu. He wasn’t a Trobriand Islander or a Khoe bushman. Whatever he
found repugnant or offensive in aspects of Christianity, he was inescapably

in a global sense a Christian, albeit one with some doctrinal issues.
ix

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