The Governance of «Well-Ordered Science», from Ideal Conversation to Public Debate

In Science, Truth and Democracy (2001) and Science in a Democratic Society (2011a), Philip Kitcher proposed a model of "well-ordered science". Through the development of a philosophical ideal, Kitcher's well-ordered science aims to consolidate the requirements of both democracy and scientific practice. This paper is an at- tempt to follow this ideal model in a more empirical perspective: how far can we use such a theory in the realms of scientific policy and institutional frameworks? The focus is put on a case study of a public debate on nanotechnology which took place in France.