Democratizing the scientific space: The constellation of new epistemic strategies around the emerging metaphor of socially embedded autonomy

• The notion of ‘situated knowledges’ undermines the traditional epistemology of Western science.
• Reflection on the socially embedded conventions of science strengthens their objective autonomy.
• A culture of socially embedded autonomy challenges the autonomy of the scientific space.
• Participant research incorporates local knowledge into the construction of scientific knowledge.

The question of the democratization of the scientific space is a complex topic which goes beyond instrumental, normative and substantive arguments justifying civic participation, to include feminist, epistemological and sociological critical theory on the construction of knowledge, ignorance and agency. An exploration across different disciplines and contexts suggests that these different fields share a culture which increasingly employs the metaphor of socially embedded autonomy. Democratization emerges as multi-directional and multi-functional, whether in the reflection by the scientific community on the social conventions of the scientific space to strengthen their objective autonomy and withstand the manufacture of ignorance around invested interests; or in research design where interdisciplinary approaches around transdisciplinary themes such as gender and climate change incorporate citizen participation in the research process, benefitting from local knowledge about particular contexts.