Three Forms of Interpretative Flexibility

Abstract

Interpretative flexibility is a central concept of social constructivism in science and technology studies. We think this concept, as it exists, can and should be elaborated. In this paper, we argue that interpretative flexibility can be traced back to three different forms of infinite regress: the regress of truth, the regress of usefulness, and the regress of relevance. Resulting from this analysis, we observe three different forms of interpretative flexibility. We will show that in controversies or debates concerning the meaning of certain scientific facts, technological artefacts or research approaches, concurrently or consecutively more than one of these different forms of interpretative flexibility may play a part. With this reconceptualisation of interpretative flexibility, we hope to contribute to a more elaborate understanding of the dynamics of the social construction of scientific facts and technological artefacts.