Ce que les science studies font à la science politique. Réponse à Bruno Latour

Abstract

In the previous number of the Revue française de science politique, Bruno Latour proposes that science studies and political science unite their efforts to work on common objects according to a renewed approach of "science" and "politics". Pierre Favre answers these propositions by granting at first to the author that both disciplines have numerous objects of study in common, even if certain perspectives diverge outstandingly. But he refuses to follow Latour on the major presuppositions of his approach. He disputes the assertion of Latour according to which we cannot distinguish "science" and "politics" which would have no different domains. He disagrees with the Latour conception of a science finally deprived of any cognitive capacity. To follow this extreme version of science studies, political science would not be scientific any more. Latour does not seem itself to be able to apply its own program, actually self-refuting. © 2008 Presses de Sciences Po.