David Teplow, a Professor of Neurology (Emeritus) at University of California, Los Angeles, is an internationally recognized leader in efforts to understand and treat Alzheimer's disease. He has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles, books, book chapters, and commentaries and served on numerous national and international scientific advisory boards. In addition to his basic science work, Dr. Teplow has had a life-long interest in general philosophy and the philosophy of science. He spent a year-long sabbatical at the University of Cambridge as a Fellow of Clare Hall and a visiting scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, where much of this book was written. This experience stimulated Dr. Teplow to create new courses at UCLA in the ethics of science, social aspects of scientific paradigm change, and the roles played by ignorance and failure in scientific progress.

Forewords Michael S. Wolfe and Hasok Chang; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Defining science; 3. Learning science; 4 Development of the scientific method: from papyrus to petaflops; 5. Science in practice; 6 Science as a social endeavor; 7. Epilogue; Appendices; Index.