Out of the Petri Dish Endlessly Rocking: Reply to My Responders

Abstract

I am pleased that my Comment has elicited such a set of (on the whole) thoughtful Responses, and also that most of the Responders appear to agree, either explicitly (especially Collins, Lynch and Stockdale) or implicitly, that science and SCS are engaged in fundamentally similar activities; that should make it easier to find common ground. The main exception, Hakken, disagrees that STS is like science, and also stands out in calling for a radical reconstruction of 'technoscience' that does not appear to be on the agenda of any of the other Responders. I have little to say about his Response, except to express my bemusement that he objects to the joke about sociologists that I quoted as 'denigrating other scholars', but feels that charging me with 'conceit-imposed blindness' is perfectly acceptable; and to agree with him that he and I are unlikely to have much interest in collaborating.

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