As relações entre ciência e política, especialização e democracia: A trajetória de um debate em aberto

Abstract

This article lays out important moments of the debate on the relations between science and politics, expertise and democracy, by looking at several authors and disciplines within the human sciences. The purpose is to clarify the origins and substance of contemporary debates on the "democratization of expertise", as well as to discuss alternatives to deal with the problem of the apparent incompatibility between demands for further public participation in contemporary democratic societies and the increasing importance of specialized knowledge for their operation. I highlight how this problem has been approached with regards to issues of science and technology.