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This paper builds upon the study of science and the French “sociologie des épreuves” (“sociology of trials”) in order to give an analytical definition of the notion of controversy. It examines the consequencies of such a definition regarding the role played by argumentations in this kind of dispute, the control of mutual violence by the participants, the way a controversy may come to an end, and finally, the ability of the researcher to maintain a position of axiological neutrality in analyzing a controversy.