The Book of Why: The new science of cause and effect

CRÍTICA: Há ciência sem por quê?

Abstract

In the wake of bestsellers that seek to bring the general public closer to technical and arid topics, such as scientific methodology, mathematical logic and inferential statistics, “The Book of Why” (Pearl and Mackenzie, 2018) brings a new breath of air to a trend that began more than a decade ago with the blockbuster “Freakonomics – the hidden and unexpected side of everything that affects us” (Dubner and Levitt, 2005). It is the exercise of elucidating the scientific method in a simple way, with creative examples and aimed at a primarily non-specialized audience. Such works have proved to be useful tools for social scientists who aim to gain methodological and statistical knowledge without losing the enjoyment of good reading.