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<p>According to what is sometimes seen as a norm in liberal democratic societies, policy decisions should be founded on well-substantiated factual insights, with science and solid scientific institutions deemed as the authoritative entities on these matters. Call this norm Role of Science in Liberal Democracies (RSLD). We first offer some evidence supporting the presence of a commitment to RSLD and situate it within the foundational traits of liberal democracies. We explore what, if anything, justifies such commitment to RSLD and identify two distinct routes to its justification. RSLD could be <i>internally justified</i> through some unique affinity between science and liberal democracies, or it could be <i>externally justified</i> by some general norm of rationality or morality. We explore and reject both possibilities. Instead, we propose a new hybrid justification of RSLD, according to which deference to science on the part of democratic decision-makers is necessary for realizing a fundamental value of democracy, namely autonomy or self-government.</p>

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Justifying the epistemic authority of science in liberal democracy

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月9日

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  • Somogy Varga,
  • Asbjørn Steglich-Petersen,
  • Klemens Kappel

摘要

According to what is sometimes seen as a norm in liberal democratic societies, policy decisions should be founded on well-substantiated factual insights, with science and solid scientific institutions deemed as the authoritative entities on these matters. Call this norm Role of Science in Liberal Democracies (RSLD). We first offer some evidence supporting the presence of a commitment to RSLD and situate it within the foundational traits of liberal democracies. We explore what, if anything, justifies such commitment to RSLD and identify two distinct routes to its justification. RSLD could be internally justified through some unique affinity between science and liberal democracies, or it could be externally justified by some general norm of rationality or morality. We explore and reject both possibilities. Instead, we propose a new hybrid justification of RSLD, according to which deference to science on the part of democratic decision-makers is necessary for realizing a fundamental value of democracy, namely autonomy or self-government.