Science Communication, Paternalism, and Spillovers

Epistemic paternalism—the act of interfering with others’ inquiries for their own epistemic benefit—has been proposed as a way to help the public form more accurate views on policy issues. Hrishikesh Joshi argues that such efforts face a serious challenge: epistemic spillovers. Because evidence interacts in complex ways within an individual’s total body of knowledge, intervening in one area can distort reasoning elsewhere. This means that justified paternalism requires the paternalist to occupy an exceptionally strong epistemic position—one rarely achievable in practice.