Присвояване на символната енергия на науката: парламентарни дебати върху българското законодателство в областта на биотехнологиите
Appropriating the Symbolic Energy of Science: Parliamentary Debates on the Bulgarian Legislation on Biotechnology

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the possibility for a democratic governance of science in the case of biotechnology by analyzing the way a public institution like the Bulgarian Parliament can overcome the deficit of expertise and make decisions on scientific issues. The empirical basis of the paper is the parliamentary debates on the Transplantation of Organs, Tissues and Cells Act between 2002 and 2006. Content analysis of 113 speeches reveals the argumentation patterns with which the MPs defend their claims to regulate transplantations and identifies the resources employed in defending them. Results show that science proves to be a key tool for the MPs, and that references to science are common practice for all speakers, irrespective of the content of the argumentation. Through the prism of these results, we discuss the three main approaches to public understanding of science and their recommendation for overcoming the public’s knowledge deficit. In search of an alternative, we use the idea of the appropriation of the social energy of cultural objects. It is argued that the Bulgarian parliament manages to avoid the deficit of expertise and thus governs science by symbolically appropriating its social energy.

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