Science and Democracy. Controversies and Conflicts.

The relationship between science and democracy has become a muchdebated issue. In recent years, we have even seen an exponential growth in literature on the subject. No doubt, the interest has partly been justiied by the concern of public opinion over the technological repercussions of scientiic research. Moreover, there are scientiic theories that, if they were accepted, would allegedly imply the adoption of policies that have wide social consequences, as well as a rethinking of deeply-rooted habits on the part of the citizens. These considerations alone allow us to understand the reasons for the interest in the, at times troublesome, relationships between science and public opinion which characterize democratic societies