Science is very successful in discovering the structure and history of
the physical world, but its success is purchased by the modesty of its
ambition. There is more to be told of the encounter with reality,
including the nature of scientific inquiry itself, than can be gained
from impersonal experience and experimental test. This book goes beyond
science to consider the human context in which it operates and to pursue
that wider understanding which we all seek. It looks to issues of
meaning and value, intrinsic to scientific practice but excluded from
science's consideration by its own self-denying ordinance. It raises the
question of the significance of the deep mathematical intelligibility of
the physical world and its anthropically fruitful history. It considers
how we may find responsible ways to use the power that science places in
human hands. Science is portrayed as an activity of human persons
pursued within a convivial and truth-seeking community. This book
neither over-values science (as if it were the only worthwhile source of
knowledge) nor devalues it (as if it were to be treated with suspicion
or not taken seriously). Beyond Science provides a considered and
balanced account which firmly asserts science's place in human culture,
maintained in mutually illuminating relationships with other aspects of
that culture.
