Democracia em xeque: ciência e contra-iluminismo no mundo contemporâneo

Abstract

Contemporary liberal democracy has been undergoing an unprecedented process of institutional erosion, marked by the delegitimization of science and the rise of discourses with an anti-Enlightenment bias. Formally democratic regimes increasingly disregard the substantive dimension of democracy, adopting authoritarian and anti- scientific practices. Science, understood in its broad sense—encompassing both the natural sciences and the human and social sciences—as the epistemic pillar of the Enlightenment, has been facing severe challenges in current public debates. In light of this scenario, the research problem guiding this study is the following: do contemporary counter-Enlightenment movements and scientific denialism undermine the foundations of democratic rationality and the Democratic Rule of Law? The initial hypothesis is that contemporary counter-Enlightenment is not an accidental phenomenon, but can manifest as a well-structured political project aimed at dismantling the civilizational achievements of liberal democracy, in favor of hegemonic group interests. The research adopts a qualitative methodology with a descriptive-explanatory approach, based on interdisciplinary bibliographical analysis drawing from Contemporary Legal Theory, Philosophy, and Political Science. The main objective is to analyze the relationship between science, Enlightenment, and democracy in the context of the contemporary affirmation of counter- Enlightenment discourse.

Keywords: Liberal democracy; Counter- Enlightenment; Scientific denialism; Democratic rationality; Democratic Rule of Law.