In this article, we argue that science textbooks do not present an accurate account of how scientific inquiry has been conducted and is conducted now. The chemistry textbooks that are used in middle school and high school use a “Great Man” theory in which all scientific discovery is attributed to a single man. However, scientific inquiry is a cooperative, collaborative effort, and it has been that sort of activity for at least the last 150 years. If girls, in general, tend toward greater cooperation, as many social scientists suggest, a more accurate account of how science is done would bring more girls into the study of science. These authors suggest that science textbooks used during the times at which girls are formulating their opinions of science (the middle and high school years) should be modified to correctly reflect the fact that science and scientists are cooperative.
claimed that every new theory, such as feminism, goes through three stages. First, the theory is regarded as absurd and outlan dish. Then the theory is thought of as reasonable but trivial. Finally, the theory becomes truth and is considered so important that even its adversaries claim they discovered it first. So it might seem I and others are doing in defending Augustine from the charges of misogyny that have been lodged against him. At first denounced for his views on woman, Augustine now has defenders who maintain that he placed great value on woman. However, most defenses of Augustine turn on his historical milieu. People like O'Meara* 1 and Weaver and Laporte2 defend Augustine by arguing that he was no worse and in some ways better than his contemporaries and that Augustine's writing reflects anti-woman traditions he inherited, not inven ted. Therefore, he is not unique in being anti-woman and can not be held responsible for anti-woman views the way many of his feminist critics hold him. I find those historical defenses of Augustine against charges of misogyny to be appealing, for I believe that being human involves a history and a culture even if there is free will. A historical treatments of thinkers may give them too much freedom at the expense of their humanity.
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