Bruno Latour

La Esperanza de Pandora Bruno Latour

The exact sciences start from the premise of "an independent reality, free from human interaction". Science studies - of which sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher Bruno Latour is one of the most prominent representatives - aims to reveal the human component that inevitably influences all scientific research and results. With abundant anecdotes and the didactics of a good teacher, Latour exposes various case studies - an expedition in the Amazon jungle, research on atomic energy or the experiments of Louis Pasteur - to illustrate the human factor of scientific knowledge. He delves into philosophical approaches from Plato to Isabelle Stengers, from Durkheim to Donna Haraway, to point out what is at stake in these so-called "science wars": the perplexed submission of ordinary people to the belligerent forces of those who claim to have attained the ultimate truth.