Performative paternalism

authored by

Jakob Ortmann

Abstract

Performativity of science refers to the phenomenon that the dissemination of scientific conceptualisations can sometimes affect their target systems or referents. A widely held view in the literature is that scientists ought not to deliberately deploy performative models or theories with the aim of eliciting desirable changes in their target systems. This paper has three aims. First, I cast and defend this received view as a worry about autonomy-infringing paternalism and, to that end, develop a taxonomy of the harms it can impose. Second, I consider various approaches to this worry within the extant literature and argue that these offer only unsatisfactory responses. Third, I propose two positive claims. Manipulation of target systems is (a) not inherently paternalist and can be unproblematic, and is (b) sometimes paternalist, but whenever such paternalism is inescapable, it has got to be justifiable. I generalise an example of modelling international climate change coordination to develop this point.

Organisation(s)

Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences

Type

Article

Journal

European Journal for Philosophy of Science

Volume

15

No. of pages

29

ISSN

1879-4912

Publication date

06.2025

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Philosophy, History and Philosophy of Science

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-025-00651-7 (Access: Open)