SCIENCE AND POLITICS BETWEEN DOMESTICATED AND RADICALIZED PRAGMATISM

This paper introduces a distinction between two understandings of the pragmatic tradition: domesticated and radicalized pragmatism. The main difference between these two views concerns the feasibility and moral legitimacy of a radical critique of an existing practice such as scie nce, politics, and so on. It is argued that domesticated pragmatism, w ith its emphasis on local rather than global perspective, has led to t rivialization and degeneration of self-reflective critique. Without re jecting pragmatism as such, this paper urges a reinterpretation of thi s tradition so as to make room for more thorough forms of critique of both science and social practice.