ABSTRACT
This chapter describes fundamental importance to the topic of legal regulation of knowledge. There is cultural knowledge in the form of information among indigenous people about the healing power of exotic plants, discussed by Wolfgang van den Daele. There is knowledge about human beings gathered from data used for profiling purposes, discussed by Mireille Hildebrandt. There is the unknown knowledge in form of risk, uncertainties, and danger in case of nuclear disasters or the occurrence of flooding, discussed by Michael Huber Huber. Many sociologists view knowledge as the defining feature of modern society. The European Union adopts an overall positive view of the knowledge society in which the key factors are support for creativity and the creation of new knowledge. A special type of knowledge is scientific knowledge in the form of empirical evidence or discursive knowledge derived from theories, and, in particular, reflexive knowledge or knowledge about knowledge.
