ABSTRACT
As she was recognized for her work and her scientific skill, she was also presented with the social context of being a woman in science. This aspect of her work played a major role throughout her life as many tried to discredit her work based on her sex. Along with the social context evident in her work’s acceptance and pushback, Carson strove to make her scientific involvement one that was ingrained in her own personal beliefs. She wrote extensively to friends about the personal satisfaction that she felt researching and being out in the field. Accompanied by her scientific skills in inductive and analogical reasoning she produced some of the most influential works of environmental science literature of the century. By focusing on Rachel Carson’s life, a broader understanding of the psychology of science can be understood. I will be evaluating Rachel Carson as a scientist by touching on her use of inductive reasoning, her own personal involvement with science as well as the social implications that Carson faced being a woman in science. This paper will be expanding research in the psychology of science by illustrating how Carson’s life as a scientist is not only impacted by her reasoning but the historical, social, and personal contexts that she experienced.
