ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book examines the relevance of science studies for the discourse and controversies concerning scientific expertise in law. That audience, the public, is the subject of Ibsen’s scientific play, An Enemy of the People, which emphasizes the importance of public relations for scientific utility. Scientific knowledge is intertwined with political bias and economic interests, not only in the obvious sense that the public reception of science is influenced by citizens’ biases and interest, but also in the way that citizens recognize the biases and interests of scientists themselves. A picture of science emerges that challenges the view that science is completely different from law. Law is rhetorical, social, and institutional, involving ethical dimensions, credibility, cultural authority, and unstable interpretations. But so is science, and those features need to be acknowledged and their implications understood in legal contexts.
