Tra «rifrazione» e «traduzioni»: Bourdieu, Latour e l'autonomia scientifica

Nowadays, scientists are dealing with new challenges that jeopardize their “autonomy”. If, on one hand, the advent of a knowledge society has determined extraordinary possibilities for coding, transmitting and acquiring knowledge, on the other one, has generated constraints and pressures acting on the entire scientific production chain. On this background, the article proposes a critical reflection on the problem of autonomy of science. Specifically, drawing from Pierre Bourdieu and Bruno Latour’s works, the essay tries to shed light on the terms within which autonomy relates to scientists’ authority and reliability, also providing some analytical tools to recognize which extrascientific forces and forms of power are able to affect scientific practices ad activities.