Authored Books

K. Kampourakis, K. McCain (2019). Uncertainty: How it Makes Science Advance. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Read also excerpts from book reviews:

• by Sharon Dunwoody, in the Public Understanding of Science and Public Understanding of Science Blog: “The careful explication offered in this modest text will be of service to our scholarly community, as will the authors’ effort, in the last third of the book, to make the case that the presence of uncertainty in science should lead us to accommodate it in such a way that we can still believe what science knows and not label it inferior to other ways of knowing. … All told, though, I found this to be an excellent and readable treatment of uncertainty. It offers a good starting point for scholars who seek an introduction to the concept, and it should find its way onto reading lists in courses from communication to the sciences.”
• by Steve Elliott, in The Quarterly Review of Biology: “… it is impressively accessible and competent about the conduct and content of actual science. … It provides an entry into thinking about knowledge and science that lacks unnecessary jargon, uses contemporary examples that students find meaningful, and covers and wide range of topics about scientific reasoning. … I heartily recommend it”.
• by F.W. Yow in Choice: “The concept of uncertainty affords an excellent subject, as all scientific endeavors begin with an attempt to eliminate uncertainty through non-scientific trials. There would be no need to explore things scientifically if certainty existed. This book also examines the psychology of uncertainty. The authors consider numerous significant domains, e.g., climate, vaccination, genetic testing and others, pointing out that science thrives on uncertainty.”
• by Ying‑Chih Chen in Science & Education: ” [Kampourakis and McCain] eloquently highlight the critical role of uncertainty in advancing science, which can be nicely applied to the challenges and progresses we have seen during the pandemic. Importantly, this book emphasizes why we as the general public should learn how to appreciate uncertainty as a resource to advance science understanding, as scientists do. … In sum, the authors productively argue that science aims to improve understanding, not pursue certainty. … Kampourakis and McCain comprehensively discuss the inherent role of uncertainty in scienceand how it progresses scientific knowledge, and they suggest that “learning how to deal with uncertainty should become a central goal of our education because we face uncertainties in all aspects of our lives” (p. 28). I am inspired by the concepts and raise critical educational questions after reading the book.”
• by József Fiser in Perception: “Kampourakis and McCain succeeded in writing a notable book on multiple counts. First, uncertainty as a fundamental concept in our scientific and everyday thinking is on the rise and this book appropriately directs focus on the concept at the right time. Second, while uncertainty can be discussed in multiple contexts, one of its most explicit role is defined undeniably in the domain of science. One could make the case that building a proper understanding/model of uncertainty is a valid scientific goal, which must be preceded by a clarification of what the role of uncertainty is in any scientific model building. … Third, more than ever, in the public eyes, science is an uncontrolled and suspicious phenomenon, which is cultivated by a few yet provides benefits for many. Any account lifting the veil on the nature of doing science and its consequences, even if only a little, brings science closer to the non-scientists audience. This book is a worthwhile reading succeeding on all three counts.”
• by Cristina Villegas in Daimon Revista Internacional de Filosofía: “Kostas Kampourakis and Kevin McCain’s Uncertainty—How it Makes Science Advance (Oxford University Press, 2020) has the merit of taking a complex philosophical topic—i.e., how scientific practice and knowledge relate to epistemic and psychological uncertainty—and make it accessible to the general public. … What this book offers to the reader is a clear, illustrative guide for understanding that there’s knowledge, understanding, and rationality in science even in the absence of certainty—and, to an extent, precisely because of it. … this book translates the debate of important philosophy of science questions into a writing style that very much welcomes a non-specialized reader.