[PHILOS-L] CfA - Panel on “SCIENTIFIC AUTHORITY AND DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY" (Braga Meetings 2026)

[00001d9f5885b12...@listserv.liv.ac.uk]

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society (CEPS) invites submissions for

PANEL 6: "SCIENTIFIC AUTHORITY AND DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY: PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTIONS ON THE MORAL AND POLITICAL ROLE OF SCIENCE."

at the 16th Braga Meetings on Ethics and Political Philosophy, hosted by the University of Minho in Braga (Portugal), on June 29–30 and July 1, 2026.

This panel, introduced for the first time at the Braga Meetings, focuses on the role of science in contemporary ethical and political debate.

 

Panel description

Science is often presented as empirically grounded, value-neutral, and methodologically rigorous. Yet scientific practices and frameworks are shaped by funding structures, institutional priorities, and implicit value judgments. Rather than merely providing neutral facts, science frequently frames political and ethical problems in ways that shape what counts as a legitimate solution.

 

Historically, scientific authority has been used to justify oppressive social orders, including colonialism, racism, and gender inequality. Today, science continues to play a central role in political decision-making, especially in times of crisis such as pandemics, climate change, and energy shortages. While expert-driven policies can improve decision-making, they may also depoliticize issues that call for democratic deliberation and concentrate power in the hands of unelected authorities.

 

Scientific developments also reshape core moral concepts, often without sufficient public debate. In animal ethics, for instance, the growing emphasis on sentience as a moral criterion raises questions about scientific consensus and moral exclusion. In artificial intelligence and other emerging fields, ethical frameworks frequently rely on simplified utilitarian models that risk obscuring social, cultural, and historical complexity.

 

This panel aims to bring together philosophers from diverse traditions to critically examine the epistemological, ethical, and political implications of scientific authority in contemporary society.

 

Suggested topics (non-exhaustive)

• Epistemic authority and political legitimacy
• Value-ladenness and idealization in science
• Science, expertise, and democratic decision-making
• Technocracy and depoliticization
• Scientific framing and moral problem construction
• Expert disagreement and public reason
• Science in conditions of risk and uncertainty
• Ethical models in applied sciences (e.g. AI, animal ethics, climate science)

 

Submission guidelines

Please submit:

• an abstract of up to 500 words,
• five keywords,
• a short bio (max. 300 words),

via the conference website:
https://16bragameetings.weebly.com/call-for-papers.html

Be sure to select PANEL P6 when completing the submission form.

• Deadline: February 15, 2026
• Notification: March 15, 2026

 

Location

Centre for Ethics, Politics and Society (CEPS),
University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

 

Contact

For inquiries: gair...@icloud.com

Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/ Messages to the list are archived at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/philos-l.html. Recent posts can also be read in a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/PhilosL/ Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos To sign off the list send a blank message to philos-l-unsub...@liverpool.ac.uk.