Acta Sociologica

The article reflects on the possibility of a social science that aims at self-referential knowledge-acquisition. This form of social research explores and questions deep-seated presuppositions prevalent in contemporary culture and strives to become aware of other forms of life. This view of social sciences, therefore, is perfectly in line with the pragmatist perspective that language and knowledge, rather than acts of representation, allow people to increase the scope of human possibilities. Various forms of social research, in a wide range of disciplines, have already explored this self-referential knowledge: for instance, genealogical history and sociology, post-processual archaeology and the critical turn in anthropology. The article locates this self-referential knowledge within the context of contemporary American pragmatism (e.g. Rorty, Bernstein). It is argued that this type of knowledge ties in with the radical tradition in neo-pragmatism, in particular its anti-foundationalist notion of critique.

Today, two trends in European societies are often referred to as being strong and growing. The first is about centralization, i.e. governmental use of scientific recommendations as a universal tool guiding policy and advising citizens on how to behave. The second is about increasing self-reliance among ordinary citizens who claim personal-autonomy while contesting central state power decisions and universally framed scientific advice. Both these trends concern public involvement in decision-making about technical issues, but also comprise a possible paradox. The European Union (EU) characterizes this as being a growing conflict. In the article, the conflict is analyzed in a case study on air quality initiatives in the city of Gothenburg, part of the aim being to create integrative and standardized European air quality. The ways in which the city applies the EU Air Quality Framework Directive for local implementation are studied, and the question is raised of what local involvement is needed for the city to successfully implement the directive. By studying how policy-makers try to define future traveling behavior in order to support an air policy action plan, three different configurations of the agency of the urban traveler are found. The most neglected of these is found to be the one most important for closing the gap in the conflict mentioned above.

The Danish Board of Technology is famous for its work with citizen participation and consensus conferences. This article is based on an empirical investigation of a citizen project on electronic patient records. It investigates the concrete, situated interactions through which the production of a consensus took place. According to the Board of Technology, the democratic relevance of this citizen perspective is validated by their consensus-creating methods. In contrast with this suggestion, the article proposes to view citizen projects as risky, experimental encounters. This view suggests that consensus methods cannot guarantee that learning will occur and that a relevant democratic outcome will be reached. This viewpoint also allows the formulation of specific challenges for citizen projects as currently conceived.

The new interest in staging public engagements with science, and the biosciences in particular, has been widely associated with a 'democratic turn' in the public understanding of science movement. This article seeks to bring this association under closer scrutiny by focusing on the development of public engagement with biotechnology in Sweden. It analyses the production and dramatic composition of a two-part film documentary entitled Life at Stake, financed by the Swedish research community and broadcast on public service television. Particular attention is paid to the actions of the new non-profit organization Scientists Meet Film-Makers, and the crucial mediating role this organization played in creating the conditions of possibility for Life at Staketo be financed, produced and broadcast. In conclusion, rather than supporting a new logic of deliberation, Life at Stakeis discussed as more concerned with symbolization and spectacle in its use of images of suffering and hope as the touchstone of truth about biotechnology in society. In this way, science communicators appear to be displaying a willingness to learn from the media practices of environmental organizations and other protest groups, who have long appreciated the importance of contesting symbolic codes and schemes of meaning in society.

Crying out for more science does not solve all problems; rather, it makes it easy to shrug off responsibility for them. This is rightly pointed out by the influential Norwegian philosopher Hans Skjervheim in his critique of positivist science. The critique of positivism in itself is to steer clear of problems that we all ought to be addressing. In confronting Skjervheim's critique of positivism with post-constructivism, this article deals with social science's circumvention of the nature–culture relationship.