ABSTRACT
Someone who follows the science wars only through hearsay and journalism might reasonably conclude that natural and social scientists align themselves as follows: the natural scientists are keen on reaffirming and perhaps even extending the social authority of their disciplines, whereas the social scientists wish to restrict that influence. However, in reality, the positions are almost reversed. For the most part, the natural scientists have been concerned to protect the integrity of their knowledge claims from extrapolations into realms where they feel that, at best, they have only metaphorical relevance. On the other hand, many humanists and social scientists have taken the various revolutions in twentieth-century science as inspiration for making bold claims about the human condition (Hayles 1998).
