Between Intrusion and Deceleration: Isabelle Stengers' Contributions on Science in Times of Catastrophe

Abstract

This article analyzes Isabelle Stengers' proposal for the deceleration of science as a civilizing project for science in times of catastrophe. The central problem lies in what the Belgian philosopher calls the intrusion of Gaia, which demands reflection on the values and practices underpinning science. To this end, we revisit Stengers’ proposals for deceleration and civilization, in an analysis that begins with its Western Modern invention and extends to its contemporary implications on three fronts: 1. delimiting the problem with her definition of Gaia, and the relationship between humor and deceleration; 2. examining the formation and development of the scientific community since Modernity as a key element for the critical state of science; and 3. addressing gender issues as themes that support her arguments about the researcher’s fiber, that is, the moral element characterizing the modern subject of science. For Stengers, "slow science" is not a romantic appeal to a previous or more inclusive way of doing science, but a political and cosmopolitan urgency to forge new social pacts that free research from neoliberal logic and enable cooperation with other forms of knowledge, that is, against barbarism.