Jump to content

Alan Sokal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Barnabas2000 (talk | contribs) at 05:21, 29 December 2012 (→‎Quotes). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Alan Sokal
BornJanuary 24, 1955
Boston, MA
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materHarvard University (B.A.)
Princeton University (doctorate)
Known forSokal Affair
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, Mathematics, Philosophy of Science
InstitutionsNew York University
National Autonomous University of Nicaragua
University College London
Doctoral advisorArthur Wightman

Alan David Sokal (/ˈsoʊkəl/;[1] born 1955) is a professor of mathematics at University College London and professor of physics at New York University. He works in statistical mechanics and combinatorics. He is best known for his criticism of postmodernism, resulting in the Sokal affair in 1996 when his deliberately nonsensical paper was published by Duke University's Social Text.

Academic career

Sokal received his B.A. from Harvard College in 1976 and his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1981. He was advised by Arthur Wightman. In the summers of 1986-1988, Sokal taught mathematics at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, when the Sandinistas were heading the elected government.

Research interests

Sokal’s research lies in mathematical physics and combinatorics. In particular, he studies the interplay between these fields based on questions arising in statistical mechanics and quantum field theory. This includes work on the chromatic polynomial and the Tutte polynomial, which appear both in algebraic graph theory and in the study of phase transitions in statistical mechanics. His interests include computational physics and algorithms, such as Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms for problems in statistical physics. He also co-authored a book on quantum triviality.[2]

Sokal affair

Main article: Sokal affair

Sokal is best known to the general public for the Sokal Affair of 1996. Curious to see whether the then-non-peer-reviewed postmodern cultural studies journal Social Text (published by Duke University Press) would publish a submission which "flattered the editors' ideological preconceptions," Sokal submitted a grand-sounding but completely nonsensical paper entitled "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity."[3][4]

The journal did in fact publish it, and soon thereafter Sokal then revealed that the article was a hoax in the journal Lingua Franca,[5] arguing that the left and social science would be better served by intellectual underpinnings based on reason. He replied to leftist and postmodernist criticism of the deception by saying that his motivation had been to "defend the Left from a trendy segment of itself."

The affair, together with Paul R. Gross and Norman Levitt's book Higher Superstition, can be considered to be a part of the so-called Science wars.

Sokal followed up by co-authoring the book Impostures Intellectuelles with Jean Bricmont in 1997 (published in English, a year later, as Fashionable Nonsense). The book accuses other academics of using scientific and mathematical terms incorrectly and criticizes proponents of the strong program for denying the value of truth. The book had mixed reviews, with some lauding the effort[citation needed], some more reserved,[6][7] and others pointing out alleged inconsistencies and criticizing the authors for ignorance of the fields under attack and taking passages out of context.[8]

In 2008, Sokal revisited the Sokal affair and its implications in Beyond the Hoax.

References

  1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijqy2A2wJJA
  2. ^ R. Fernandez, J. Froehlich, A. D. Sokal, "Random Walks, Critical Phenomena, and Triviality in Quantum Field Theory". Springer (April 1992) ISBN 0-387-54358-9
  3. ^ Sokal A. (1996). "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity". Social Text. 46/47 (46/47): 217–252. doi:10.2307/466856. JSTOR 466856.
  4. ^ Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity
  5. ^ Sokal A. (1996). "A Physicist Experiments with Cultural Studies" (PDF). Lingua Franca: 62–64.
  6. ^ Stephen Hilgartner (1997). "The Sokal Affair in Context". Science, Technology & Human Values. 22 (4): 506–522. doi:10.1177/016224399702200404. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ William M. Epstein (1990). "Confirmational response bias among social work journals". Science, Technology & Human Values. 15 (1): 9–38. doi:10.1177/016224399001500102.
  8. ^ Gabriel Stolzenberg, "Debunk: Expose as a Sham or False"

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alan_Sokal&oldid=530251849"