Conclusion: Is It Really Possible to Take the Floor (Agnostically) About Refused Knowledge?

This chapter establishes and underscores the salience and relevance of studying knowledge claims refused by scientific communities as a way to understand the changing relationship between science, technology and society, with its conflicts and ambivalence. It makes the case that studying refused knowledge requires social scientists to venture beyond the comfort zone of their ‘knowing niche’ to renew their analytical lenses and thus avoid simplistic representations and interpretive blind spots. This chapter thus critically scrutinises the implications arising from the permanence of a series of ready-made normative prejudices and interpretative blind spots regarding the current challenges to science as well as about refused knowledge. Finally, it also outlines a number of potential analytical insights that require further collective effort if they are to be better defined and translated into precise research agendas.