Epistemic validity and social relevance in the validation of scientific knowledge: an uneasy balance?
Epistemic validity and social relevance in the validation of scientific knowledge: an uneasy balance?

Summary/Abstract: This paper considers the relation between distinct requirements underlying the scientific enterprise (validity, relevance, legitimacy) and argues for a revised understanding of how they interact in the production and validation of scientific knowledge. Here, two related proposals are critically discussed: the case for a ‘new social contract for science’ and the case for ‘postnormal science’. Their limitations are traced back to certain unquestioned assumptions and conceptual distinctions that need revision.

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