From Einsteins quest for a unified field theory to Stephen Hawkings belief that we would know the mind of God through such a theory, contemporary scienceand physics in particularhas claimed that it alone possesses absolute knowledge of the universe. In a sweeping work of philosophical inquiry, originally published in French in seven volumes, Isabelle Stengers builds on her previous intellectual accomplishments to explore the role and authority of science in modern societies and to challenge its pretensions to objectivity, rationality, and truth.