The hegemony (1) of science, which has, for several centuries, served as a frame and signpost to the development of western society, is now increasingly challenged. The questioning of political decisions in the name of scientific necessity without democratic process; the growing discomfort with the conditions of living in an overtechnicized society; the resurgence of "irrational" practices and systems of belief; all these symptoms indicate that we may be witnessing a turning of the tide.