Controlling Influences

Abstract

Drawing on the rationalist account of autonomy outlined in the previous chapter, this chapter provides a framework for identifying different forms of influence on individual decision-making. The author explains how his theory allows for a broader understanding of rational persuasion than that which is suggested by the standard account, and shows how different forms of persuasion can be compatible with autonomous decision-making. Such persuasion can be contrasted with psychological manipulation, which serves to directly alter an individual’s motivational states in a manner that bypasses the cognitive element of the target’s decisional autonomy. Having identified the various forms that psychological manipulation can take, the author argues that global forms of manipulation, which involve wholesale changes to an individual’s psychological economy, raise concerns about identity and responsibility but not autonomy. Finally, he outlines the implications of his theory for informational manipulation and deception.