Larry Lauden

By philippunzalan

  • Birth

    Larry Lauden was born in Tracy, California.

  • Publication of Science and Values

    In this book, Larry Lauden claims that the scientific theories we have and develop are not absolutely true, but rather, they are what is "most true" according to the information available to us. He also made the argument that science wasn't as objective as a lot of people thought it was since values and judgments were involved in their scientific processes. Laudan, Larry. Science and Values: The Aims of Science and Their Role in Scientific Debate. University of California Press, 1984.

  • Publication of Science at the Bar

    This next book entails the role that science played in the judiciary system and the heavy influence that scientific evidence held in the courtroom. Lauden believed that scientific evidence held too much power in the court because the participants did not consider their limitations which was made worse through their use only when it supported a claim. Laudan, Larry. Science at the Bar: Law, Science, and Technology in America. Harvard University Press, 1990.

  • Publication of Beyond Positivism and Relativism

    Laudan argued against both positivism and relativism in the philosophy of science. He suggested that scientific theories cannot be directly tested against reality, but were to be evaluated based on their ability to solve specific problems of a given research program. Also argued that scientific progress is not linear, but more of a trial-and-error process. Laudan, Larry. Beyond Positivism and Relativism: Theory, Method, and Evidence. Westview Press, 1996.

  • Publication of "Truth, Error, and Criminal Law"

    Laudan expanded on his ideas presented in "Science at the Bar." He argued that the legal system should adopt a more Bayesian approach that considers both the prior possibility of the defendant's guilt and the reliability of the evidence itself. He also wanted the legal system to be more open of the uncertainties and limitations that scientific evidence presented in court had. Laudan, Larry. Truth, Error, and Criminal Law: An Essay in Legal Epistemology. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

  • Death