Bruno Latour and the Secularization of Science

Massimiliano Simons

doi:10.1162/posc_a_00330

Bruno Latour and the Secularization of Science

Massimiliano Simons^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Several sociologists of science have mobilized secularization metaphors to describe developments in the study of science. Similar to how secularization refers to a decreasing status of religion and God as a transcendent factor in society, the secularization of science refers to an abandonment of Science as something “sacred” and Nature as transcendent. This article aims to explore these secularization metaphors, by arguing for a parallel between how sociologists and philosophers of religion differ and how similar disagreements between sociologists of science and the work of Bruno Latour exist, whose work should rather be linked with that of other philosophers, such as Michel Serres and Isabelle Stengers.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	925-954
Journal	Perspectives on Science
Volume	27
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1162/posc_a_00330
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2019
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Bruno Latour

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abstract = "Several sociologists of science have mobilized secularization metaphors to describe developments in the study of science. Similar to how secularization refers to a decreasing status of religion and God as a transcendent factor in society, the secularization of science refers to an abandonment of Science as something “sacred” and Nature as transcendent. This article aims to explore these secularization metaphors, by arguing for a parallel between how sociologists and philosophers of religion differ and how similar disagreements between sociologists of science and the work of Bruno Latour exist, whose work should rather be linked with that of other philosophers, such as Michel Serres and Isabelle Stengers.",

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Bruno Latour and the Secularization of Science

Abstract

Keywords

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