The Value of Manipulation in Trust Relationships
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22370/rhv2025iss28.4371Keywords:
autonomy, care, discretionary power, aesthetic values, morality, fulfilling lifeAbstract
Manipulation has a very bad moral reputation, and it is generally assumed that resorting to it in our dealings with others implies a lack of respect for their autonomy. I will argue that manipulation is itself morally neutral, as, for example, Sarah Buss and Annette C. Baier have suggested. My analysis focuses on one specific type of manipulation that occurs between adult agents who share bonds of trust. I specifically aim to justify the intuition that consenting to be manipulated by a trusted person does not in itself indicate weak autonomy, does not necessarily imply a betrayal of trust on their part, and may even be something that the manipulated agent encourages more or less consciously as part of their pursuit of experiences that satisfy their vital interests.
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