Bobadilla, Hernán (2025) Embracing Conflict: An Agonistic Framework for the Legitimation of Non-Epistemic Values in Science. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Non-epistemic values are an inextricable component of scientific research, yet their legitimacy
– particularly in contexts of scientific advice to policymakers – remains a contested issue.
Dominant arguments for their legitimacy draw on deliberative democratic theory, establishing
as legitimate those non-epistemic values that align with the outcomes of due processes of public
deliberation. However, I argue that alignment strategies – particularly Lusk’s (2021)
“compatibilism” – implicitly rely on a degree of consensus, entailing questionable
consequences in contexts marked by pervasive diversity and dissent. In response, this paper
outlines an alternative framework consistent with the core insights of agonistic democracy, in
an attempt to overcome these consequences. Drawing on Wenman (2013), I identify three
central elements of agonistic democracy: constitutive pluralism, a tragic worldview, and the
value of conflict. I suggest that these elements have epistemic implications, leading to (i) a form
of epistemic pluralism akin to van Bouwel’s “interactive” pluralism; (ii) engagement with
multiple forms of uncertainty, viz., aleatoric, epistemic, and relativistic; and (iii) a form of
epistemic relativism that admits critical appraisal. Together, these implications form what I call
an “agonistic stance”, which affords distinctive perspectives on the legitimation of non-
epistemic values. To illustrate this, I engage with de Melo-Martín’s (2024) argument on the
demarcation of legitimate non-epistemic values in science, showing how an agonistic stance
offers complementary, but also divergent, insights.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Bobadilla, Hernán hernanfelipe.bobadilla@polimi.it 0000-0003-0003-9952
Keywords:	Agonism; legitimation; non-epistemic values; democracy; deliberation.
Subjects:	General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Hernan Bobadilla
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2025 17:06
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2025 17:06
Item ID:	27438
Subjects:	General Issues > Values In Science
Date:	27 August 2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/27438

Available Versions of this Item

• Embracing Conflict: An Agonistic Framework for the Legitimation of Non-Epistemic Values in Science. (deposited 28 Aug 2025 13:09)
  • Embracing Conflict: An Agonistic Framework for the Legitimation of Non-Epistemic Values in Science. (deposited 11 Dec 2025 17:06) [Currently Displayed]

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