TY - JOUR
T1 - Nudges in a post-truth world
AU - Levy, Neil
N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2017/8/1
Y1 - 2017/8/1
N2 - Nudges-policy proposals informed by work in behavioural economics and psychology that are designed to lead to better decision-making or better behaviour- are controversial. Critics allege that they bypass our deliberative capacities, thereby undermining autonomy and responsible agency. In this paper, I identify a kind of nudge I call a nudge to reason, which make us more responsive to genuine evidence. I argue that at least some nudges to reason do not bypass our deliberative capacities. Instead, use of these nudges should be seen as appeals to mechanisms partially constitutive of these capacities, and therefore as benign (so far as autonomy and responsible agency are concerned). I sketch some concrete proposals for nudges to reason which are especially important given the apparent widespread resistance to evidence seen in recent political events.
AB - Nudges-policy proposals informed by work in behavioural economics and psychology that are designed to lead to better decision-making or better behaviour- are controversial. Critics allege that they bypass our deliberative capacities, thereby undermining autonomy and responsible agency. In this paper, I identify a kind of nudge I call a nudge to reason, which make us more responsive to genuine evidence. I argue that at least some nudges to reason do not bypass our deliberative capacities. Instead, use of these nudges should be seen as appeals to mechanisms partially constitutive of these capacities, and therefore as benign (so far as autonomy and responsible agency are concerned). I sketch some concrete proposals for nudges to reason which are especially important given the apparent widespread resistance to evidence seen in recent political events.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85026393433&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/title/1507858340440/67110
U2 - 10.1136/medethics-2017-104153
DO - 10.1136/medethics-2017-104153
M3 - Article
C2 - 28526778
AN - SCOPUS:85026393433
SN - 0306-6800
VL - 43
SP - 495
EP - 500
JO - Journal of Medical Ethics
JF - Journal of Medical Ethics
IS - 8
ER -