The political leeway in policymaking: from Neurathian underdetermination to the precautionary principle

Erspamer, Melanie (2024) The political leeway in policymaking: from Neurathian underdetermination to the precautionary principle. Teoria-rivista Di Filosofia, 44 (1). ISSN 1122-1259

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Abstract

In this paper, I propose and develop the Auxiliary Principle (AP), which states that given the endemic uncertainty in policymaking, decision-makers always have political leeway in their choices, and that they should acknowledge it as such. First, I explain the ideas of Otto Neurath, whose writings on decision-making in conditions of epistemic uncertainty and his proposal of an auxiliary motive inspired my AP. Next, I explain the AP in-depth, including what its purpose is in decision-making under uncertainty, how it opens up a space for political discussion, and how it meets the political risk of false certainty. Finally, I argue that the AP can be a useful substitution for the popular Precautionary Principle at the meta-level while preserving its risk-averse intuitions. I use the controversy around the regulation of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19 to illustrate my arguments.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 Edizioni ETS
Divisions:	European Institute Government
Subjects:	J Political Science H Social Sciences B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Date Deposited:	05 Jul 2024 09:27
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2024 10:30
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124113

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