{"product_id":"we-have-never-been-modern-9780674948396","title":"We Have Never Been Modern","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith the rise of science  we moderns believe  the world changed irrevocably  separating us forever from our primitive  premodern ancestors. But if we were to let go of this fond conviction  Bruno Latour asks  what would the world look like? His book  an anthropology of science  shows us how much of modernity is actually a matter of faith.  What does it mean to be modern? What difference does the scientific method make? The difference  Latour explains  is in our careful distinctions between nature and society  between human and thing  distinctions that our benighted ancestors  in their world of alchemy  astrology  and phrenology  never made. But alongside this purifying practice that defines modernity  there exists another seemingly contrary one: the construction of systems that mix politics  science  technology  and nature. The ozone debate is such a hybrid  in Latours analysis  as are global warming  deforestation  even the idea of black holes. As these hybrids proliferate  the prospect of keeping nature and culture in their separate mental chambers becomes overwhelmingand rather than try  Latour suggests  we should rethink our distinctions  rethink the definition and constitution of modernity itself. His book offers a new explanation of science that finally recognizes the connections between nature and cultureand so  between our culture and others  past and present.  Nothing short of a reworking of our mental landscape  We Have Never Been Modern blurs the boundaries among science  the humanities  and the social sciences to enhance understanding on all sides. A summation of the work of one of the most influential and provocative interpreters of science  it aims at saving what is good and valuable in modernity and replacing the rest with a broader  fairer  and finer sense of possibility.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45666084552757,"sku":"ByrdShop_0674948394","price":48.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780674948396.jpg?v=1782418642","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/we-have-never-been-modern-9780674948396","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}